The Six Murders
by Pirate Thirteen
Summary: When a human named Six is released from prison, he crosses criminal lines into the realm of calculated, serial killer. It is up to the vigilante, detective-for-hire drell named Sariel Vier and a few allies to stop the murders.
1. Chapter 1

"Diana Harp. Twenty-nine years old, Caucasian, average weight and height. Works as a mechanic at the local Check and Go. Called in sick this morning but there so far there are no real signs of her actually being sick."

"Any signs as to what the truth was."

"There is possibly sexual assault, but otherwise that's why you're here detective," the officer handed detective Mason a tablet, "A background check shows that she was a part of a gang over a decade ago that landed her in prison for a while. She helped steal an Alliance ship off a military base on Earth. The gang went on to pirate for a couple of years before being put to a stop."

"The hell?" the detective flipped through the files on the tablet, "Seriously?"

"She wasn't one of the major players behind it, but she did assist in it. Because of her age at the time, her sentence was mostly focused on her actions as a part of the gang afterwards. Largely involving theft, property damage and drugs. Her record has been clean since her release." Mason looked up as they entered the room of the crime scene and met eyes with a brown, lizard like alien at the other side of the room.

"What the hell is that!" he jumped a little and held the tablet up like a shield. The alien's large black eyes narrowed a little as he studied the detective quietly, clasping his hands behind his back.

"He's the one that called it in," the officer said.

"Well why the hell is it still in here?" Mason hesitated to continue into the room, "Shouldn't someone be out there getting a statement from him, away from the scene?"

"Apparently he's a detective too."

"Like hell I'm going to let that thing get involved with this," Mason waved the tablet at the alien, "Go on, get out. Get. This is a human issue." The alien quietly turned to walk, ignoring the detective. He looked up at a giant Six on the wall that was drawn with blood. The back of his head had a v shape, leading down his neck and disappearing into the collar of his jacket, "Hey! I said get!" Mason finally took several steps into the room but kept a distance from the alien that was studying the six on the wall.

"What's wrong with him? Is he mute or something?"

"He was chatting quite a lot before you showed up, Mason" came Dr. Diaz's voice, "Try solving that one." The medical examiner was hunched over the body of Diana Harp collecting samples. An assistant next to her took picture evidence with his omni tool.

"Why, because I'm a human detective wanting to deal with a human crime?" Mason remained on the opposite side of the room from the alien but moved around the couch to see Dr. Diaz. She only shook her head, not lifting her eyes from the corpse in front of her. He looked over at the alien again, noticing him slide a few pieces of paper around on the desk, "Am I going to have to arrest you for tampering with evidence?" The alien continued to ignore him, turned and walked around the room, eyes scanning it. Finally Mason got up the nerve to approach the alien. He came up behind him and grabbed his shoulder. The alien turned with a look of disgust and Mason immediately jumped back a foot, using the tablet as a shield again, "I said to get out of here!" The alien wiped his shoulder quietly.

"Keep your filthy, pastry residue covered hands off me and address me appropriately."

"Alright! Enough!" Dr. Diaz slammed her kit's lid down, "Stop pissing all over the crime scene you two. You need to share," she picked her kit up, "Detective James Mason, this is Detective Sariel Vier. He is a drell, extremely rare species and not an it, quit being raciest. Detective Sariel Vier, this is Detective James Mason. He is an ass, but I think you need to get your own head out of your own ass and just tell him what he needs so we can get this poor woman some justice."

"You're withholding evidence at my crime scene?!"

"I am fully willing to share _my _evidence at _my_ crime scene with a humanfor _my _investigation." Sariel met Mason's anger with a smug look on his face. Dr. Diaz rolled her eyes.

"Sere Vier I will have the samples ready for you when you need them. Just give me a call," Dr. Diaz turned to the officer and her assistant, "Move her body to my lab for autopsy."

"You can't move the body yet, I've only been here for a few minutes."

"Sariel has all the information you need sir. Trust me." Dr. Diaz stepped out of the room. Sariel turned quietly back to the six on the wall. He appeared to wait patiently for Mason to address him appropriately.

"This is my jurisdiction, this is my crime scene, this is a human issue. I don't need no damn lizard thing interfering in my work. I am ten seconds away from just having you arrested." Sariel lowered his head and shook it as he looked back to Mason.

"This crime has been committed on four other worlds in the last couple of weeks. That is why I am involved. It is an intergalactic issue."

"You couldn't have said this before?"

"I was waiting for you to apologize, but time presses me now. Diana died three hours ago. I only arrived here to Terra Nova an hour ago. I'll need to leave soon before the killer finds his next target."

"So you know who the killer is."

"Yes, his signature is right here," he held his hands out as he turned back to the six on the wall, "The human symbol for Six. That is his name, "he put his hands back down, "Six was recently released from prison. All the DNA evidence here will lead to his record, in which I encourage you to help spread the warrants for him to other human worlds as much as possible, even minor colonies. It seems that news isn't spreading as far and fast as it should. I haven't met him in person yet, nor he I, but I'm sure the rise in warrants for his arrest has him aware of me," he turned and looked at the body the officers were putting into a thick black, plastic bag, "Diana is Seven. The others dead, Two, Three, Four, and Five."

"Why did he give himself a number with his victims?"

"They were the names they were given when they were children and teenagers on the streets of Earth. Given by their leader who called herself One. She is an L2 Biotic who had run away from one of the early human biotic programs. When they formed their gang that they called Cipher. As they grew older, the gang grew powerful quickly. They were all very resourceful and intelligent in one way or another. In the end it fell apart just as fast. They got in over their heads stealing the Alliance Ship. They gained more members reaching nearly 50 and pirated, but it then turned out One wasn't that great of a leader after all. She began to mentally break down. Some simply left the gang, others were arrested in the end."

"So One is still alive?"

"She is currently living in a psychiatric hospital on Earth. Very, well guarded and watched. I have the suspicion he would have skipped her if she was not. She became a mother figure for all of them. They followed her so easily, she protected them. I interviewed her a week ago. She enjoyed playing the cryptic with me. She approved of what Six was doing because she believes they all abandoned her, but she knew nothing else about them."

"Do you know why he is doing it?"

"Not exactly yet. Maybe the same reasons as One. Held on too much value for that gang. Can't let go of the past. Perhaps jealousy. He has no other identity but fake ones where ever he goes. When he was arrested, they were unable to find his birth name and he just would not reveal it. To my current knowledge everyone else has moved on, produced real identities for themselves, good or bad. I knew Four as a Michael White. I was trying to track down him down on evidence of being a part of a major drug ring. Then I found him murdered exactly as you see here, " Sariel's voice seemed to change for a moment,

"The drip trail from the body to the six on the wall indicates the victims blood was used. No sign of struggle. Five stabs to the torso, one slash to the throat, six total. Location conditions and level of decay indicates at least four days dead. A sleeping bag is rolled up by the bed. Two plates on the table, one with a partial eaten meal, the other only traces of it. Someone trusted cooked White's last meal." Sariel paused for a moment and the humans all looked at each other. His voice returned to normal as he continued.

"Evidence later showed that Six used a drug to paralyze his victims and kept them fully awake. Having already investigated White's history a bit, I knew he had the alias Four. There had to be a connection to the Six. More research produced the knowledge of the gang, DNA evidence linked to Six's record, the rest of the murders came when I began to research the other former members. Each of murder almost identical," the two officers were now carrying Diana's body from the room, "If you look now, there is breakfast on the table in Diana's kitchen. A half full plate and an empty plate. He wants us to know he's doing this. The investigators for the previous murders never found the victim's former numerical names. They were looking for patterns in local crimes and then never bothered to use the DNA evidence beyond their world.

"I'm still trying to identify Eight, Nine, Ten, and Thirteen, which is proving very difficult as they all have tried hard to cover up their trail and pasts. Eleven and Twelve I was able to successfully warn, they're married. They and their children are under protection until the investigation is over, with false identities, but that doesn't help when Six insists on going in order. I have a few colleagues helping me shift through the information to find the other members while I investigate on the field. We found Five, I missed saving Torrance Wagner by a couple of days, now Seven, Diana Harp, by a few hours. So if you need anything further from me, make it quick. I arranged for a complete detailed report to be sent to your office later today. For now, I have to find out who and where Eight is hiding."

"I think I'd be more comfortable if humans were investigating this."

"That is a pity, Mason. Truly a pity." A wide smile crossed Sariel's face as he began to walk to the door.

"Why do you even care?"

"Because I'm not a careless, imbecile as you are. Really, how did you become a Detective Mr. Mason? I was held up waiting for you while you went to stuff your face with pastries."

"I was busy with another case, not eating donuts. You could have just left instead of waiting for me. The report would have been plenty."

Sariel paused at the door and only turned his head a little to speak.

"I believed it was important for you to know what was happening from me directly. In addition being that I was the one to call the emergency, I had to remain to ensure that my name was clean while I continued the investigation. However, that does all feel far less important now," he stepped through the door, "You have powered sugar on your wedding ring by the way."


	2. Chapter 2

Burned out was the best word to describe Sariel right then. He walked out of the airlock into his personal starship, his whole body ready to collapse in fatigue. The ship maybe had enough cramped room for five at the most. Only one seat in the cockpit so it could be flown solo. He walked immediately to his desk, starting up his personal terminal. Barely a moment on and it was already beeping. He hit the accept call button and on the screen appeared a human with blonde hair. Sariel let out a deep, frustrated sigh.

"Hello Chase. Where is Amek?"

"Vier, what the hell happened? We've been trying to contact you for five hours."

"The local authorities arrested and questioned me," he leaned onto the desk with his elbows, putting both hands on his forehead, "Where is Amek?"

"He stepped out for a smoke. You really need to start giving them a heads up when you're coming, you know most humans don't even know your species exists...." he noticed Sariel shaking his head, "...did anyone stop Six?"

"I found him. At her home...." Sariel struggled to keep the memory from coming again. The questioning from the investigators had, to say the least, worn his patience thin for humans.

"And..."

"I was...late... Six stands over Kirra's body, splattered with blood. 'Don't move!' I shout. He runs for the window. I fire after him, he drops something but Kirra gasps painfully for air. She's still alive! Let him escape. Call for the emergency medics. White sheets from the bed to control the bleeding. Three gashes on her torso. Her throat is cut deep. Blood bubbles from her lips. 'Don't try to speak Kirra.' Dilated, terrified blue eyes. She's drugged, paralyzed and fully aware, like the others. Her body manages to shiver, struggling to hold on to life. Her eyes are begging me to save her. 'Kirra, I'm here for you. Don't be afraid Kirra, hang on!" The shivering stops. Her life slips away so quietly. I don't hear her last breath. Her eyes still scream to me...."

"Oh jeez Sariel. I'm so sorry." Chase had a look of horror on his face. Sariel sat up straight in his seat, seeming to have gained strength back.

"It's alright, I'm fine. They weren't able to capture him, he got off world because the fools were too focused on me," his jaw was rigid and he pounded his fist on the desk, "Anything on Nine yet?"

"Just more rumors and fake identities floating around. We've found 28 identities and I narrowed it down to five, only because they are all human. If you want to shift through the rest I'll upload them all to you too."

"Yes, please send all of them." The window of Chase went to the side of the screen as the information loaded to Sariel's computer, pictures one by one appearing in front of him.

"I can't believe we have so much information at our finger tips this time and still can't find the target. Out of curiosity, I contacted the Shadow Broker to see if I could get anything more exact on Nine for the right price. The credit amount for any information on him could buy me a retirement home. Appearance, current location, close associates, it's all way over budget for us."

"That's why I prefer not to use the Shadow Broker. I'm fully capable of gathering information myself. You just assist me."

"I know, but with as close as we got this time with Eight, I wanted to get a step ahead in case something went wrong. Doing it this way is taking too long with Nine," Chase paused and held a hand up when he felt Sariel's furious stare through the screen, "Sorry for questioning you, oh great galactic, genius detective. My point is we're not the only ones that want to find Nine and Six is not the only one that wants to kill him. The Shadow Broker is taking advantage of that for a profit. On whatever information we find on Nine, we might want to really keep it to ourselves or saving him will be pointless. We might even get ourselves in danger with that kind of knowledge." There was a long silence and he spoke again, "Sariel, you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Normally there is a string of comments about how inferior I am at this point. I think Eight got to you, buddy. Maybe you should get a drink and some sleep. I don't think Nine will be easy to find even for Six. I'm sure we have time."

"Six already knows who Nine is. He's a step ahead of us. No time to rest till he's arrested," Amek, a blue colored salarian walked up behind Chase.

"Nine is a former Shadow Broker agent," Sariel said, "If he learned anything from gathering information for the Shadow Broker, he knows how to hide it well. It probably costs the Shadow Broker a fortune to keep up if Nine is as skilled as many of these profiles suggest."

"Undoubtedly. A hand full of them are quite believable. Leads all over the galaxy. One big Pyjak chase."

"Nine is a woman," Sariel spoke abruptly.

"What?"Chase shook his head, "Unless I missed something, all the humans are male."

"That's why Nine is a woman. If you do not count the two Asari identities, the rest are all male."

"Ah! Clever!" Amek nodded, "Human male superiority social beliefs. If the real information surfaces, it would be dismissed as fake by many because she is a human female."

"Oh....Uh…"Chase scratched the back of his head. Sariel shifted his eyes from the words on the screen to Chase's pale, white face.

"You found something on a human female named Nine didn't you?" Sariel's eyes narrowed. Chase began to type quickly.

"I said everything," Amek smacked the back of Chase's head, "Everything! Gather everything, no matter how absurd you thought it was, everything!"

"I still have it! Relax!" Chase shouted. The information began to transfer to Sariel, "It involves the murder of an Asari Matriach. They believed the motive was over an inheritance dispute between her real daughters and her unofficially adopted, human one. Let me just clarify, I wasn't being biased against women. The girl is just way too young to have been part of that gang. Too young to know that much stuff. There's no evidence of training beyond tech from the Matriach. She'd have to be well trained in stealth, weapons, and defense to have worked with the Shadow Broker and to be evading half the galaxy that's hunting her. Everyone else in the gang are in their thirties, she's in her early twenties at best. There's just no way."

"Nine was a child prodigy, the gang probably gave her basic training," Amek leaned towards the screen, "Not just any Matriarch Asari. That's Matriarch Seshata. She was a technological genius. Nine hundred and eighty is well past any remote desire for children. The very fact that she even considered adopting a human is unusual. No images? No real name associated with Nine?"

"Everything I found on this version of Nine is in that C-Sec report. I hacked it from the Citadel cold case files, nothing else in the system was related. I know, it's weird. It's another reason I didn't bring it up. Not because I was being biased."

"Warrant dropped," Amek continued, "Not enough evidence for trial. No image of Nine, not even a police sketch? Cold case.....are you alright Sariel? You're quiet."

"Things didn't end well with Kirra." Chase spoke in a low, soft voice.

"I'm fine," there was an irritated rumble in Sariel's throat, "They kept the warrant open for four years and a newly promoted Detective Phrixus Telamon was the one that made the case cold? He was never involved with the case in the first place. I don't even think he was with C-Sec at the time." Sariel typed a little, pulling up an image of Phrixus. A turian with a dark complexion with white strips on his cheeks, going back to his fringe. Three strips were on his chin.

"You know him?" Chase asked.

"Not personally. I've heard about his promotion. He stopped a slave trade ring that was kidnapping orphans right off the Citadel. A former Asari detective named Syrena Apata had not only knowledge of it, but was involved with the slave ring and had been hiding evidence of it for the last 150 years. Phrixus became involved when a salarian STG agent named Ezum Pual Ila Cosona Rian Valer came to C-Sec with leads on the slave trade ring. "

"Wow, you actually remembered his full name?" Chase examined the image of the salarian that popped up on his screen. He had black skin and red dots on the back of his head that came up and over between his eyes. Then two white lines up each side of his face. Meanwhile, Sariel continued to speak.

"She tried to stop them, first by leading them on and nearly getting them killed on a mission to Omega. She had said it was to gain evidence from the Blue Suns for the slave ring. Then she put out charges for their arrest, saying they were the ones involved with kidnapping orphans. They managed to bring out information, photographic and video proof of Apata committing the crime as well as a list of others involved. They claimed, ironically, to have obtained the evidence from the Blue Sun's data bases. The Blue Suns were going to blackmail her in an attempt to get in on the trade. Apata escaped, the rest arrested, Phrixus and Valer were heroes." Sariel began to look up a contact list for the Citadel, "I need to speak to this turian."

"Hold on, I don't see the connection between Nine and Telamon."

"How can you not?" Amek smacked Chase in the back of the head again, "Telamon was promoted. Nine's charges were dropped almost immediately after. He was returning a favor."

"Then you're assuming that Nine got the data. There's a salarian STG agent involved too. We get information from the STG all the time. What if he's the one that got the data?"

"Yes, we get information from the STG all the time. We also have established that most of the information we have on Nine is fake."

"I'm pretty sure we told them her life was in danger and we were after a serial killer. They wouldn't hide important information like that."

"Valer returned a favor as well. Tampered with STG information to protect her. The accusations from Apata would have destroyed Valer's life. Ended his career with the STG, end or prevent any marriage contract, family disacknowledgement. For all we know, he has alerted her to Six and us."

"Let's hope not," Sariel said, "Six is going to stay in numerical order. If she makes it purposely difficult for us to find her, we'll never find and stop Six either. Nine is likely the whole reason the gang was able to hack into Alliance security to steal the military ship. If the information in the C-Sec report is correct on her unofficial adoption, the gang fell apart when she left."

"This still all sounds way too much to believe," Chase shook his head, "You guys are assuming way too much off of one old report."

Sariel's tone of voice changed for a moment as he spoke, "He runs for the window. I fire after him, he drops something..." Chase jumped in his seat.

"Sorry man, didn't mean to trigger that again," but Sariel only shook his head, blinking several times. Quietly, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a small slip of paper. His voice a normal tone again.

"I found this in the bushes, three stories beneath the window. A receipt for a ticket to the Citadel. I checked the starship that the ticket was meant for. It was never used, he must have left earlier than planned because of me. C-Sec is only based on the Citadel and Phrixus was promoted to being a C-Sec detective. Satisfied yet Chase?"

"So at this rate, he's probably already at the Citadel." Chase sunk back in his chair, visibly processing all of the information and having some difficulty with it.

"Precisely why I must go now," Sariel began to type again, "Chase, I really hoped you learned something from all this. Never dare question my capabilities again."

"Sounds like he's feeling better now." Chase crossed his arms only to be smacked in the back of the head by Amek again.

"If you meet Nine, ask her if she needs a job. I could use a new tech assistant," Amek smiled as Sariel closed the comm. An Asari then appeared in a new window, with a wide, warm smile.

"Citadel Security, how may I help you?"

"I am Detective Sariel Vier. I need to speak to Detective Phrixus Telamon."


	3. Chapter 3

The Vexa nightclub was one of the ideal places for Nine. She walked through the front doors to the music pounding and a lively crowd. Nothing made her smile more than seeing her friends. Phrixus and Valer were already at their reserved booth. They ordered their drinks and food and told each other jokes and stories.

They hadn't seen each other in months. Each of them had their own hectic lives to handle. They resorted to messages when time permitted. Their get togethers were always planned in advance, never spontaneous. Valer and Nine, as always, left Phrixus in the dust with parts of the conversation. The combination of the fast salarian words and a young woman's chatter left the poor turian few chances to slip in any comments. Phrixus didn't mind it though. It was just good to see the two again. Then Nine let out a long gasp.

"OH! Look! Look! A drell!" Nine's eyes were wide as she beamed at the other side of the room.  
"Where?" Valer sat up a little in his seat to look around her. He spotted the brown colored drell, sitting in a booth and drinking alone, "Oh, wow. Wonder what he's doing here."  
"Having a drink apparently. No big deal" Phrixus shrugged.  
"No big deal?" Nine gasped again, "Drell are an endangered species. Very clearly a male, chocolate color, very hot. This is so awesome!"

"He looks more like dirt color to me." Phrixus took a large bite out of his food.  
"Quit staring. It's rude. He'll see you." Valer sat back down.  
"Maybe I want him to see me." A sensual look crossed her face as she continued to eye the unaware drell.  
"You can't be serious," Valer spoke in a harsh voice, "I can barely stand yours and Phrixus' non-serious flirting. Real cross-species, libidinous relationships. That's disgusting."  
"I hear that licking a drell can get a human high," Nine bit the bottom of her lip.  
"Oh gods!" Valer put his hand near his red spotted horns, "Stop it."  
"I bet he tastes like chocolate."

"That's not true," Phrixus leaned onto the table towards Nine, "Well the chocolate part, I don't know, but it's mouth to mouth contact. With lots of tongue."

"I said stop it!" Valer glowered at Phrixus who returned it with a smile.

"And how would you know, turian?" Nine smirked.

"You're not the first human I've had this conversation with."

"Do you think it was a cross-species, libidinous relationship?" she whispered to Valer who was pretending to not listen while he ate his cold food. She sat up straight, "I bet it's licking. I like licking."

"I'm available you know," Phrixus's mandibles flapped.

"I know. It's so funny and sad at the same time." She chuckled and Valer choked on his food. He grabbed his drink quickly to gulp it down to clear his throat. Nine returned her gaze to the drell, ignoring Phrixus's scowl. Clearing his throat, Valer shook his head.

"I'll never understand it. Never. There's no benefit from it at all," Phrixus opened his mouth to say something, but Valer cut him off, "With the exception of the asari. Other than that, it goes completely against nature's design. Things don't match up," Valer's eyes scanned the room, "Half the females at this club are eyeing that poor guy like a piece of meat. It's just terrible. You're all sick."

"Now who's really being sick here," Phrixus said, "Most everyone is staring because they've never seen a drell before. Not because they want in his pants." In response, Valer tapped his three fingers on the table loudly with a hard glare at Phrixus.

"There are plenty of benefits of cross-species relationships," Nine said, "No unplanned pregnancy and lots of unplanned sex."

"That sounds about right," Phrixus nodded.

"That makes no sense at all! The whole point of..." Valer struggled with his words a little, "...it's for reproduction only. You can't reproduce with another species, therefore it is wrong."

"It's for pleasure," Nine's usual colorless cheeks were full of color now.

"That is nature's way to encourage it. Especially if your species gives painful live birth. In turn, the pleasure is supposed to be with your own species. I don't understand why nature allows it."

"Well you are salarian. Of course you can't understand," Valer narrowed his large black eyes as she spoke, "You, Valer, have the sex drive of a boulder on Noveria's south pole during the winter," she looked back to the drell and caught him as quickly he looked away, "He's staring back at me," she flicked her messy hair over her shoulder.

"You are shedding in my food, mammal!" Valer pulled his plate far away from her. Phrixus chuckled.

"Why not for love? Anything wrong with being in love?" he tilted his head at little. There was awkward silence. Then all three burst into hysterical laughter, swaying around in their seats as if they had far more to drink than they really had.

After a few moments, the three nearly passed out from the hard laughter. Phrixus let out a sigh and noticed that Nine had set her eyes on the drell once again, "Better go nab him now, monkey, before someone who actually brushes her hair and shaves does."

"Shave? What? I thought only the males shaved..." Valer shoved his plate of food away, "Never mind. I don't want to know. Nauseated now. Thanks a lot." Valer dropped his head onto the table with a thud as Nine picked up her drink, "I'm going in," she picked up her drink while Valer dropped his head onto the table with a thud. She barely took a few steps before the drell stood up. He walked away with a revolted look on his face. Before he disappeared into the thick crowd around the dance floor, Nine noted that he tilted his head a little and shot part of that frown beyond her. Phrixus started to laugh wildly again. Nine turned quietly, watching him lean over in his seat, holding his stomach as he laughed. After a short struggle, Valer suddenly broke into laughter as well.

"You really won him over Nine!" Phrixus shouted. Even a few onlookers were chuckling to themselves. She returned to the booth, holding her head high with a distinct pout on her lips.

"It's his loss."

"So, are you done now?" Valer coughed as he calmed himself.

"Yup." Nine sipped from the cup quietly, eyes glued to Phrixus now.

"Don't look at me like that. That was free revenge that you provided for me."

"Pfft, no," she waved her hand at him, "I was just wondering if you, Inspector Phrixus Telamon, had any, you know, interesting work you're involved with right now."

"Nah, just the usual theft and drug busts. Nothing exciting lately."

"Oh." Nine slid her finger around the edge of her glass quietly.

"Oh?" Phrixus beady silver eyes widened a little, "Ooooh."

"I misth somethin?" Valer's mouth was full of the food he had the stomach for again. A ringing noise echoed from Phrixus. He hastily reached to his side and pulled up his omni tool.

"This is Telamon, what is it?"

"Sorry to disturb you so late sir," came a turian's voice, "You don't need to come in, I just need to speak to you privately for a moment."

"Give me a minute. I'll call you back," Phrixus stood up without making any eye contact with Nine, all too willing to leave. "Excuse me." He walked away towards one of the back private rooms, disappearing out of sight around a corner. He stopped by a bouncer, "I just need to use a room privately for about ten or fifteen minutes to make a com call."

"Right, com call," the bouncer had a bit of sarcastic tone in his voice. He nodded down the hallway, "Room 4."

"How many credits?"

"He already paid for you."

"What? Who?"

"Look I don't care, just go."

"Okay," Phrixus walked down the hallway cautiously. He opened the door to room 4 and there stood the drell. " Hey wait a minute," he looked back down the hallway at the bouncer, "this is not what you think!" The drell grabbed Phrixus and pulled him inside, the door shutting behind him. Phrixus shoved him away. "Why are you even here, Sariel?"

"Why did you let her do that?"

"I said I'd talk to her when I had the chance, when Valer was gone. I've got all of C-Sec on high alert for Six, customs is scrutinizing every male human that comes through Citadel docks. You just had to step back I let me handle this part alone. Now why are you here?"

"I was observing."

"She and half the room observed you brooding over there in that booth. I wouldn't doubt that Six'd spot you," Phrixus paced the room a moment, "Though getting you to move backfired, I think she's on to us."

"Not that I really care that she knows at this point, but that's certainly not my fault."

"Well it was your own damn fault."

"You do realize that your presence would deter Six as well. You are Nine's friend. Quite possibly the one that led him to her in the first place, as you did for me. Moreover you are a C-Sec detective while C-Sec is actively searching for him on the Citadel. Otherwise, right now is just to make sure she is safe and has not already met and been deceived by him. At some point you do need to tell her the situation."

"Like I said, when Valer is out of earshot at least. I don't want Valer getting involved, period. He'll just try to take care of Six himself and I'd rather Six be dealt with by proper law,"

"Hrmm...I suppose I agree."

There was a beeping noise at Phrixus's side again, "Look, I've got an important call with C-Sec. Just go brood somewhere in a dark corner where you can't be seen this time, and make sure she doesn't take off, if she hasn't already."

"The three of you truly have a strong friendship. Your trust of the two of them is very praiseworthy. Perhaps that is the real reason she is on to you."

"Just go," Phrixus opened the door. Sariel swiftly walked out without another word.

"That was fast," the bouncer still spoke with the same tone of voice.

"Cretin." Sariel spoke loud and clear, but continued to move without looking at him. The bouncer only stood confused.


	4. Chapter 4

Valer patted Nine on the back. She had been completely silent since Phrixus had left, "At least, lower your standards. That drell swaggered too much. "  
"That's not even what I'm worried about. Though, if I was capable of lowering my standards, I'd go after Phrixus," Valer chuckled and she turned to him, " Do you think Phrixus was acting strange at all? Did he say anything odd before I came in?"  
"No, why?"  
"That drell gave him a look too."  
"Ooo!" Valer waved his hands around, "That's just terrifying."  
"Shut up," she shoved him hard, "it was a specific look. It gave me a bad feeling."  
"Quit being so paranoid. I know things are bad for you right now but this is Phrixus. If he is hiding something, he's doing it because he cares for you. He's too good of a person to do otherwise. That drell though, clearly thought he was superior to everyone. He's probably shot that look hundreds of times tonight. Phrixus was laughing very obnoxiously loud," She seemed to relax a little more, focused on the dark liquid inside her glass. He leaned over to look at the plate in front of her, "Eat. Don't let that all go to waste."  
"I'm not really hungry," she shook her head. Valer slid the plate over into position, shoving his own empty plate aside.  
"I'll eat it then," he pulled the fork up to his mouth, noodles swaying below. Nine only shrugged, sipping from her glass. He put the fork back down, "How about you join me on my next assignment. Make my job a little easier. Hack stuff with me."  
"Hrmmm," She perked up a little, "playing galactic spy for a bit sounds like fun. Will I get paid?"  
"Twenty-five percent sound good to you?"  
"Really? You sure? With everything going on, I might draw unwanted attention."  
"I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't expect more trouble. I flew through my last mission without lifting a finger. It was boring. I need intentional, unintentional action going on. My superiors won't blow their tops that way if it appears unintentional," Nine leaned over and hugged him tightly. A very wide smile crossed his face, "Good. We can leave in the morning."  
"There is only one more thing to do to cheer me up. Let us dance!" she then stood taking him by the hand. He followed willingly, still with the very wide smile. The dance floor was crowded, but nonetheless enjoyable. The two usually remained close together when dancing on the floor, so it didn't take long for Valer to realize Nine had slipped away into the crowd.  
"Nine!" He shouted over the music, dark eyes scanning the crowd rapidly. Then he spotted her, smiling and waving at him as the previous discussed drell was pulling her away. Valer shook his head and mumbled to himself, "Drag me out on the dance floor, then ditch me alone and make an ass out of me. Thanks."

The drell pulled Nine in close to dance. Despite the type of music still pounding, they began to do a swift waltz. They weaved in and out between the more wildly dancing crowd as they went. They switched the lead back and forth with ease, avoiding rogue dancers that flung the bodies in the path.  
"So how may I help you sir?" Nine beamed with great amusement.  
"Actually, I'm here to save you."  
"Alright. You're hot, I can stand a lame pick up line," she put the back of her hand to her forehead, "Save me from what my knight in shining armor."  
"Under normal circumstances I wouldn't touch you if my life depended on it," a deep laugh rolled from his throat. She immediately tried to pull away, her expression went from joy to embarrassed fury. However, he kept his grip on her and spun her back into his arms. He held her tightly as he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Nine, I am detective Sariel Vier. Your life is in danger. The only reason I came to the Citadel was to make sure that you were safe and to arrest a criminal. I will tell you more when we are somewhere more private." She stomped her heel onto his foot and he shouted, immediately letting go.  
"Well my dear knight, it was nice chatting with you," she waved but before she got too far, he grabbed her by the arm and spoke in a low voice.  
"At the very least, you need medical attention..." he was interrupted by her fist. It was like a chunk of metal slammed into the side of his head. The action drew attention from the crowd of dancers nearby as Sariel nearly lost his balance. He put a hand to his frill with his mouth open wide in pain. Without a word she turned and walked away. He only stood in disbelief seeing her hand light up in a omni tool holo as she typed. Her hand was synthetic.

"Don't like him anymore?" Valer asked as he joined her.  
"Nah. I'd still hit that... only with a crowbar now."  
"What happened? What was he trying to do?"  
"We just need to get the hell out of here," she surveyed the room for any people that stood out from the normal bar crowd, "According to him, I have an uninvited friend visiting."  
"No problem. We can leave for my mission tonight instead of tomorrow. I'll send Phrixus a message later about what happened," Valer looked over his shoulder, "That drell is following us."  
"Let him. I've got my pistol..." She trailed off as they approached the doorway. Stepping through was an old, familiar face, "Six?" the name softly escaped her lips as she exhaled. He was really standing in the doorway, frozen as though he was staring at a ghost.  
"Nine? Is that really you?" His voice was shaky and his eyes began to water a little. She ran forward to embrace him tightly.  
"Oh you have no idea how much I've missed you," she put her hands on his tired, unshaven face to make sure she was not dreaming. Tears trickled from his eyes and she wiped them away.  
"I missed you so much too. They just released me from the Alliance prison," his eyes looked her up and down, "Twelve long years... look at you. No more pesky, gangly little girl. You're a full grown woman now," Nine posed and spun, fluffing her messy hair, "Same face, same smile. I can recognize that much, but the rest of you. I..."  
"Say no more, I know I'm beautiful," she turned to Valer, "This is my good friend Valer. Val, this is Six."  
"Nice to finally meet you," Valer nodded towards Six, "Nine's said a lot about you." Valer seemed distracted as he spoke, glancing back towards the bar. Nine realized that the drell had disappeared. She felt a cold chill go up her spine at the possibility that the drell was the one out to kill her. She wanted out.  
"Let's have some drinks, on me." Six reached into his pocket for his wallet.  
"Nah," Nine shook her head and patted his arm, "I'd like to go for a walk. The drinks here taste like piss anyways."  
"Oh...okay." Six nodded awkwardly.  
"I'll catch up," Valer walked back towards the bar, "I forgot my credit chit at the counter."

Sariel slipped behind Valer as he walked by, seeing the front doors close behind Nine. Sariel tried to run after her but was pulled back, slammed flat to the floor in a blue haze.  
"Do we have a problem here?" Valer towered over Sariel, crossing his arms.  
"We can't let her leave with him," Sariel stood up, his voice rising, "That man..."  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, take the hint and back off," the blue haze, almost like a flame, formed strongly around Valer. Sariel exhaled on a hard cough.  
"Your intimidation hardly phases me, you incompetent fool," Sariel turned to run again, "He's going to..." He only took a few steps before he was lifted completely off the ground and thrown at a nearby table like a ragdoll. The patrons at the table had jumped from their seats as he landed and the heavy, metallic table flipped over to pin Sariel to the floor.  
"Wrong thing to say!" Valer bellowed as he walked towards Sariel.  
"Hey! Take it outside!" the bartender shouted, "You better plan on paying for whatever you broke!" His warning was completely disregarded. Sariel tried to push the table off but Valer held it down with his biotics.  
"Valer! Quit it!" Phrixus yelled. Valer stopped short of the table, letting go and allowing Sariel to shove the table away. Phrixus ran over to help Sarielwho was wincing and hugginghis side. Then he shot a furious glare at Valer. The salarian only smirked back, Phrixus however looked around frantically and then yelled, "Where's Nine!"  
"This moron let her leave with Six," Sariel attempted to speak calmly. Phrixus took off for the doors without a word and Sariel followed.  
"What's going on!" Valer was close behind them.  
"Six is going to hurt her, possibly kill her!" Sariel shouted back. The three came to a stop outside the club, looking around.  
"You're lying," Valer growled, "That guy is practically her brother, maybe even a father. He took care of her when she was a kid. She's said nothing but good things about him. He was even in tears when he saw her. He wouldn't hurt her. Not in a million years."  
"He's killed others of the gang Nine grew up in, " Sariel said, "Every single one trusted him. They all let him into their homes, had dinner with him, and planned for him to spend the night. Nine's just next in the numerical line."  
"This must be a mistake!" Valer shouted.  
"What was he wearing, Valer?" Phrixus held his omni tool up to his beak.  
"What evidence do you have?"  
"I'll show you when we have the chance," Phrixus growled, "now tell me what he was wearing!"  
"Dark, long overcoat," Sariel spoke, "Dark pants, combat boots. Nothing outstanding really."  
"Attention all officers," Phrixus said into his omni tool, "The suspect Six has been spotted leaving the Vexa nightclub wearing a dark, long overcoat, dark pants, and combat boots. He is with a young female human, about 5'8, brown hair, green eyes and a white waist long jacket with blue accents. Please be on full alert."  
"She had a myno leaf in her hair," Sariel walked up to Phrixus, "Access thegroundskeepers' shipment orders. See if anyone ordered myno weed poison."  
"What does that have to do with anything? We need to split up, we can't waste any time," Valer put his hand on Phrixus's omni tool to stop him from looking up the order forms, but Phrixus pulled away immediately.  
"It will help us find where her hideout is on the Citadel," Sariel stood next to Phrixus to view the files that popped up, "Though I am assuming you don't know where she hides while she visits."  
"No, I don't, but Nine doesn't comprehend mirrors. Phrixus, you know that. She's probably had that leaf in her hair for a week."  
"It was a particular myno leaf," Sariel stood straight and tall to try to match Valer's height, "It had an orange stripe on its edge that indicated the rare mutated weed that grows only here on the Citadel. Very deadly for other plants and most groundskeepers pull them right away. The chemical used to kill its seeds is expensive and has a very short shelf life of about a week. Groundskeepers do not normally keep it on hand, and considering the condition of the leaf as well as the estimated time that Nine arrived here, the order should have been within at least a day."  
"You pulled all that from some fluke leaf that could be turning orange because her fuzzy hair is suffocating it."  
"The tiniest detailcan say a lot about an individual," Sariel sneered, "For example, that blue glow you keep exhibiting indicates you are compensating for your immense insecurities."  
"You...little...!" Valer charged forward with the mentioned blue glow blazing, but Phrixus quickly stuck an arm out to stop him. Sariel only took a step back, holding his head high with a sardonic smile.  
"There was of course fairly fresh mud on her boots and she smelled like demael flowers, which in addition to the myno weed indicates she's frequented a garden somewhere here on the Citadel recently."  
"Found the order," Phrixus announced, "The groundskeeper specifically asked for a poison that would be gentle on demael flowers," Phrixus he pulled his omni tool to his mandibles again, "Attention all officers, Six and accompanying woman are heading to level 44."  
"You've lost your mind!" Valer shouted at him.  
"This is Detective Sariel Vier. Believe me, he knows what he is talking about. Now let's get moving."  
"No! You go look for the stupid plants. I'm looking for Nine," Valer stormed away.  
"Well that got him out of our way," Sariel turned towards the parking area, Phixus following.  
"Yeah, let's just hope he doesn't blow a hole into something important," the two climbed into a taxi.  
"What was that call really about Phrixus? I can't help but feel it wasn't a coincidence Six showed up shortly after you left."  
"Whoever it was, hedragged me on with a fake lead on something else I'm working on, claiming to be this rookie officer. They had me in a conversation discussing evidence when I realized there was something really odd about his voice. So I started recording. This is what I got." He lifted his omni tool.

"What was your name again?" came Phrixus's voice from the speaker. There was a long pause, "You still there?" An awkward, turian sounding voice hissed through.  
"There are nine choirs in heaven and there are nine rings in hell. Six will pass judgment."  
"Transfer that to me," Sariel pulled out his own omni tool, typing quickly.Phrixus transferred the recording, "I'm not sure why she bothered with the voice effects. She just gave herself away. Intentionally too, she waited for you to record because she knew you'd let me hear it."  
"Who?"  
"One."  
"I thought you said she was a nutcase in a mental institution."  
"She's supposed to be," Sariel spoke into his omni tool, "Amek, Chase, whoever gets this message first, please contact the Aceso Facility. I need a status update on One immediately. Then have this recording deciphered for the actual voice," He closed his omni tool, "Now, my second question. Why were you refraining from mentioning Nine's name when you called the alert for Six?"  
"I realized that the location Nine is probably hiding in... it's a manor..." Phrixus took a deep breath, "...that formally belonged to her unofficial, adoptive mother Matriach Seshata. It was also where she was murdered. It now belongs to one of her more blood related daughters, Zahra."  
"Why would Nine risk hiding there?" Sariel asked.  
"Zahra is hardly ever home. She's a corporate executive over on Illium. I think she keeps the home in the hope some clue will turn up some day. Nine must be staying there while it's empty. If Zahra is home for whatever reason, we're going to have to tell her thatNine's been poking around the place while she was gone. Lying would be pointless, because as soon as she hears the guy's name is Six, she'll connect the dots quick. Then I'm in trouble for hiding Nine and being the detective that officially put that case on the shelf for lack of evidence. "  
"Let's pray she's not home then."


	5. Chapter 5

"I pulled the myno weeds the other day and made the order for the chemicals first thing this morning." The human groundskeeper looked beyond Phrixus andthe C-Sec officers that had joined him, watched Sariel carefully. "Look, until you get that warrant, no one is going back there. It's private property and I've gotta protect my ass while Lady Zahra is gone."  
"The reason I was able to track this to youwas because you ordered chemicals to kill plants on private property through Citadel funds meant for the public gardens you also work in," Phrixus watched as the humans face turned red with rage, "He's not a C-Sec officer, I am, and I'm writing a report on what you did and I'll be investigatinghow long you've been doing this. Good luck protecting your ass now," Phrixus turned to see that Sariel was still inspecting the edge of the garden, "You're lucky I'm not arresting you. Just don't worry about him."

"Not C-Sec my ass, I saw him get out of that shuttle with you," the human waved his hand, "Threaten me all you want, I didn't use the chemicals yet and I never said I was going to use them here. Just get that guy away from there." The turian sighed and turned.

"I'll talk to him."

Phrixus walked towards Sariel, talking aloud as he approached, "We're still waiting on the warrant, you are technically a civilian, get away from there or we'll have to arrest you too."

"I was not aware that admiring dameal flowers was a crime," Sariel spoke aloud without looking back. Phrixus came up next to him and Sariel immediately pointed, "Footprints, leading off into the shade over there," he traced his finger along an invisible line to the back of the garden. There were a few plants bent over across the path, a few faint prints in the mud, "I'm surprised the groundskeeper did not already notice."  
"Well we can't do anything till we have the warrant in."  
"We don't have much time," Sariel spoke in a harsh whisper, "Nine is ill and Six will certainly take advantage of that."  
"What do you mean she's sick, she seemed fine earlier."  
"Did you at least notice she had lost a great deal of weight?"  
"Well yeah... but you've never met her before... have you?"  
"There was a crease in her belt where the buckle would normally have been. The buckle was about two sizes lower. Compared to her height, she is not at a healthy human weight right now. She also didn't touch any of her food and said the drinks at her favorite nightclub were bad..."  
"So she's sick. The other problem still stands, we can't enter private property." They both glanced back to the groundskeeper who was talking to the C-Sec officers. Sariel spoke in a low tone.  
"Who said anyone had to come with me?" A roguish look crossed his face.  
"You can't," Phrixus nearly hissed.  
"I'm a drell. If I'm caught, I'll just tell them my soul was detached and I was running on instinct to save Nine."  
"I don't think that's going to work in Citadel court very well," Phrixus was clearly not finding any of it funny at all, "Don't expect me to come to your defense either, I'll be the one cuffing you."  
"Oh damn it," Sariel spoke as sarcastically as possibly, "Guess I'll have to take all the fault if I am caught. You go distract the groundskeeper. It will only take me a moment to get back there. He won't notice."  
"Did you not hear what I just said?"Phrixus was now growling through his teeth.  
"Nine conveniently left this section's security off. The cameras are still paused, the security mech hasn't made **its** round, the laser trips are still deactivated."  
"Those are huge mistakes..." Phrixus looked around the garden area, "She must be real sick."  
"Yes, and the more time we stall here, the more time Six has to act and escape." Phrixus turned back to Sariel, who continued, "Or perhaps she will kill herself. She needs some medical attention if she's lost the weight I think she has."  
"I'll try to distract him," Phrixus let out a heavy sigh as he turned back to groundskeeper, taking his omni tool out along the way. His talons moved around the holo in his hand and then suddenly, a kiosk nearby exploded clearing a group of onlookers and drawing attention from everyone as a small fire began. Without a second thought Sariel stepped over the short wall marking the edge of the property into the soft, moist flower bed. He took off into the shadows to find an opening in the wall that was leveled with his eyes. Fresh mud was smeared in short vertical lines up the wall, with hints of the soles of boots. He pulled himself up to the opening peering in for a moment and then dropping down into a dimly lit utility corridor. Two sets of muddy footprints on the floor led up to a door that was ajar. He quietly walked up to it, pulling his pistol out and listening quietly.  
The back of his mind flickered back to the other night. Sariel's heart began to pound in his skull and he held his hand over his mouth to mask any words from his memories that would slip out. Fear crept up that he was about to interrupt Six again. This time it would be far worse. Just half an hour ago he might have met, spoken to, and driven Nine right into Six's hands.

Ending the brief lapse, he fortified himself to continue with the thought that he had to stop Six at all costs. He pushed the door open and stepped in, holding the pistol up. It was a small, cluttered old storage room lit by a single, bright light. The boxes on the shelves were labeled with hundreds of years of the memories of an asari family. The thick dust on them testified to the last time the current home owner had bothered to visit her past. Sariel walked past a section of shelving and discovered a cot with a side table. A clear plastic cup sat on the table, half filled with water. There were droplets on the top half indicating it was used recently. Beneath the cot there was a box with the word "Nine," in the Asari language, on the side.

Before Sariel had much chance to satisfy his curiosity with the box, he heard the screech of a sliding door followed by rapid foot movement. He followed the sound and found the opened, hidden sliding door where a wall once was. It led to a dimly lit, underground hallway that was lined with pipes and wires. The rapid footsteps echoed across the pipes and guided him off to the right. They stopped very abruptly and around a corner he found Nine. With her back to him, she was hunched over with her hand firmly gripping a duct on the wall to keep herself standing. Her body was shivering badly.  
"Nine," Sariel called out to her. She jumped and looked back to him with wide eyes. She was even paler than before, her face slick with sweat. He put his pistol away, "I'm here to help you, please trust me."  
"Fuck off," she pulled her own pistol out and shot at him, he ducked back around the corner. A section of wiring sparked and burned.  
Out into an opened space, she turned to jump up over the railing and disappeared below. When he arrived to that spot he found a series of stairs spiraling downward. She was jumping back and forth between the railings, quickly moving to the bottom with an experienced ease.  
"Ridiculous woman..." A very low growl rumbled though his throat. It would just be much faster to just continue running down the steps then to dare follow her. He was only part way down when she reached the bottom, dropping straight to the floor and skipping the last flight of stairs. Not wanting to lose her, Sariel took a deep breath and vaulted over the railing to drop down near the final set of stairs. He grabbed the railing and it rang out sharply as his body slammed into them. With a grunt, he dropped down to the floor. She hadn't gotten far after all; just few feet down the corridor. She was leaning against the wall, still shivering uncontrollably.  
"You're too stubborn for your own good," He reached out to put his hand on her shoulder. She spun around before he could touch her, swinging her cybernetic fist again. This time he ducked and grabbed her by the wrist. With the flick of her fingers, the omni tool lit up and electricity erupted from it. Sariel cried out as pain paralyzed him. Nine hurled her body into him, shoving him to the opposite wall. He had a sore reminder that Valer had slammed him into a table earlier with the stinging bruise on his back.When his eye sight cleared and the pain subsided, he saw Nine was already half way down the corridor.  
The end of this passage opened to a walkway in the midst of thousands of pipes of varying sizes, color-coded for wiring, water, and sewage. Nine jumped up on the railing once more, hesitating this time before she dropped down onto a section of pipe. She spun around it like a gymnast and went lower. When he reached the railing, he looked down to see a narrow chasm dropping down and opening to a rush of shuttle traffic. The swoosh and buzz of each passing vehicle echoed back up, drowning out all other noise. He could see that the path she took, swinging and leaping between the pipes, was heading to a final walkway at the edge of the traffic. She was moving far slower now, hesitating before taking her next move.  
With anothervery throaty, deep snarl**-**Sariel jumped over, landing on the pipes. Cautiously, he dropped to the next and swung to another, following the same path she took down. Somehow over the buzzing of shuttles, he heard her gasp. He looked over to see her slip and dangleloosely by one hand. He thought she was going to completely lose consciousness.  
"Hold on, I'm coming," he shouted, trying to pick up his pace a little. The sound of his voice seemed to wake Nine from her brief daze. She managed to swing her other arm up, pushing herself the rest of the way onto the catwalk. Without faltering this time she reached the walkway. Instead of running though, she stopped altogether and hunched over to vomit. When he reached the hanging pathway he could hear her desperate voice.  
"Valer please hurry." She curled up on her knees to cradled herself.  
"If you're going to leave with Valer, just tell me where Six is." Sariel began to approach cautiously. She looked back at him and pulled her pistol out. She was barely able to hold it strait.  
"What don't you understand about fuck off?" Her arm dropped down as she turned to dry heave.  
"I understand that it must be very difficult for you. You haven't seen Six in a long time and he took care of you when you were a child. He is just not the same person he was then. He has murdered others from your gang. Two, Three, Four, Five, Seven and Eight. You are his next target."  
"You're lying! He'd never hurt me or any of the others."  
"I wouldn't be chasing either of you if I didn't have strong evidence," he took very small steps towards her, "Phrixus has seen the evidence and is helping me with this. I just want to make sure you're safe and that he pays for the crimes he's done. If you're comfortable enough with seeing certain aspects of this evidence, I will gladly show you."  
"These days, a lot of evidence can be fabricated very easily." She pulled herself up on the railing, quivering to stand up straight.  
"Deny this all that you want. This is going to end with you, alive and well." A shuttle rose up next to where Nine stood, its door opening as it pulled in close to the walkway.  
"Nine, come on!" Valer yelled from the vehicle. She put the pistol away and climbed over the railing.  
"Just tell me where he is, Nine!" Sariel ran foreword, "That's all I want to know."  
"I don't know," she hopped from the railing to the shuttle, "Just stay out of it. Tell Phrixus to back off too." He came up to the railing to see her in the seat with closed eyes, her body calmed. Beyond her, Valer beamed back at Sariel with a mocking wave. The door shut and the shuttle pulled away. Sariel stood stiff, folding his arms behind his back. A rumbled rolled from his throat as he looked down to see he was standing in Nine's vomit. He reached into his jacket, pulling out a bag and a cloth. He stepped away from the vomit, rubbing his boot on the walkway and then dipped the cloth into the disgusting stomach fluid carefully. He stuck the cloth into the bag successfully without a drop touching him and zipped it tightly shut. There was a ringing at his side as he began to walk along the walkway. He lifted up his omni tool.  
"Yes?"  
"Hey, it's Chase. I've got news for you that you're not going to like. One committed suicide this morning."  
"Actually...that makes it more fascinating," he began to casual walk, "Tell them to check the serial numbers on her biotic implants. Also, pinpoint my location and send a map for the easiest way out."


	6. Chapter 6

The Citadel Security offices always appeared clean and well organized but Phrixus's office took it to the extreme. The room was sterile, cold, and empty. No pictures, art, plants or anything decorative personalizedthe room. Sariel still noted something while he restlessly circled the little shoebox room. The turian's desk was centered perfectly towards the back of the room. From the back wall the desk was 1.5 meters, 1.07 meters from the wall on each side, and 4.5 meters from the entrance. A data pad was aligned with the edge of the desktop on the left and his omni-tool straight across on the right. The orange glow of his computer screen and holographic keyboard were dead center. Not a speck of dust was anywhere. Despite sitting stiffly in his chair, Phrixus was very comfortable. A ringing noise echoed and Sariel lifted his omni tool, turning on the holo screen on the wall. Amek appeared on the screen.

"Are the results as I predicted?" Sariel asked. Amek nodded before speaking.

"Autopsy proved the woman was never Jesslyn Reed- One-at all. They're investigating the serial number of the biotic implants and how the files could have been compromised. DNA, fingerprints, images, everything had been replaced with this woman's."

"That sounds like Nine's work." Phrixus spoke up from his computer. "I get the feeling a few people are losing their jobs with the Alliance now?"

"Speaking of Nine." Amek now produced a fake smile. "Chase met her earlier."

"Oh?" Sariel had a bad feeling.

"She engaged him in conversation while she went through all our files to collect information on us and delete anything on her."

"Wonderful." Sariel sighed.

"I didn't know it was Nine!" Chase shouted in the background. "It was one of those randomized chat things. Otherwise I would have closed the window and stopped chatting with her."

"Was anything of importance taken?" Sariel asked.

"No bank accounts or signs of identity theft. Still just as alarming. Birth dates, education, family, personal and private things. She knows far more about us than necessary."

"She did the same thing to Valer and me." Phrixus said. "It's the irritating way she gets to know people. Probably learned from the Shadow Broker. She'll find stuff about you that you don't even remember."

"And I assume she doesn't share much of anything about herself in return." Sariel grumbled.

"She's probably completely freaked out that you were able to find her."Phrixus said.

"Chase, have you made any progress with that recording." Sariel asked.

"Yeah, you can tell it's a woman's voice now." Chase slid in behind Amek in the holo screen, "I'm still working a few kinks out. She didn't use a typical voice alteration program. I think she was trying to hide some background noise too."

"Send me what you have. I don't know how much time we have but if you progress further and find anything, send that as soon as possible." Sariel turned away from the screen, "Citadel charges double on long distance calls at this hour," The screen abruptly disappeared, ending the call. Sariel looked over at Phrixus who had returned to typing, "You seem quite happy working here."

"Livin' the dream." Phrixus's beady green eyes sparkled a little and his mandibles waved. "Though when I was a kid, I imagined more females throwing themselves at me."

"I don't think I could stand all the restrictions." Sariel began to pace.

"They're there for a reason. Not everyone can pull off something like you did today and manage to not be wrong."

"You're right, most people are idiots, but..." Sariel walked up towards the edge of the desk, "You helped me bend the law a little."

"I resisted and I'm not proud of giving up." Phrixus mumbled,going back to work on his computer.

"No, you're not. You either trust total strangers or you care for her more than you'd like to."

Phrixus exhaled hard, "The evidence you sent me proved that you weren't making it up. I contacted all the forces and detectives you referenced and they confirmed everything. From what I've seen you're really good at what you do. You've already been with this case this long, I don't see why not."

"You are a tad obsessive compulsive." Sariel began slowly but sped up as he continued. "And a workaholic. You don't spend enough time in here to bother personalizing, yet you've managed to keep it dust free. You do everything like an a-typical turian, C-Sec officer, everything by the book. However, you bent the rules a little today. You let me go due to the realization that Nine was ill and not because of my history."

"You are wrong." Phrixus said firmly.

"Your conscious struggles to trust Nine because of her shady lifestyle. In spite of this, you are going out of your way to protect her. You blew up that kiosk and set a dangerous fire in a fashion I would assume you learned from, her considering the technical part and use in distracting. Why is this?" Sariel smiled.

"You're clearly unfamiliar with this sort of thing." Phrixus said. "Let me explain it for you. She's this type of a person most people would call a really good friend. Good friends help good friends."

"Professionally speaking." Sariel shook his head. " Being just good friends doesn't mean acting out of character in such a way that may cost you your job, as well as cause public property damage."

"I owe her, she saved my life. " Phrixus folded his talons on the desk. "Valer too, but he wouldn't have been able to do it without her. Don't mention to him that I said this. He'll come kick my ass about it. This job position is just a bonus to my life. I can live without the bonus."

"It was that much of a traumatic experience?"

"Well, falling off a building on Omega typically leads to being sucked out into the vacuum of space."

"Ah, I see."

"When I first met her, believe me I hated her." Phrixus said. "She was selfish, she was greedy, and an agent for the Shadow Broker. Well, a recently fired agent, but still, how could anyone really trust that? Valer and I had been too blinded by Detective Apata to realize she'd been involved with the kidnappings and had been planning to kill us. If anyone had us wrapped around her fingers, Apata did. She was... extremely attractive and new which buttons to press with any male she dealt with. Again**,** don't mention that to Val, he'd kill me.

"Nine knew it all along. She ignored it for the credits. When Nine got the data she actually saw the images of the orphans chained up and being herded into freight boxes. I guess it struck a cord with her."

"Her own orphan childhood."

"Yeah. So instead of just leaving with the payment she decided to help us. Nine tried to save the data only Apata had already planned to use the short window in the transfer to eliminate everything. That omni-tool blew to bits in Nine's hand. With that injured hand, Nine hopped on the back of a YMIR mech and hacked in manually. Then she helped Valer haul my unconscious ass up the side of a building. The fact that she bothered shocked me. From the bits of her omni tool, she still managed to get the data. Then, after getting to know her a bit afterwords... she's a good kid. She hasn't had many chances to straighten out and she's trying to anyways."

"I see." Sariel returned to his pacing, pulling his omni-tool out and checking for the message from Chase. "Are you sure that was what happened? You were unconscious."

"You met Valer right?" Phrixus chuckled, "Between the three of us, Valer wouldn't shut up about what Nine did. Valer of all people admitted he needed his ass saved. I got the hint that he took out a lot of rage on Detective Apata. No one knows if she's alive or dead. She just never came back to the Citadel. Her disappearance makes me question Valer's way of handling things."

"Is that why you wanted to keep him out of this?"

"Valer tends to do his own thing to get his job done and tends to get away with it."

"A bad influence indeed."

"I want to get her out of it. With her talents, she could do a lot of good things. Security, cyber warfare, weapons software, shields, hell she could help people in witness protection completely disappear off the radar, ordesign synthetics. She replaced her own hand with an omni-tool."

"I noticed that." Sariel rubbed his frill absentmindedly, remembering when she had punched him. It still shocked him that even while holding that hand, he'd felt no indication that it wasn't a real limb. He could even recall warmth from it. "It's just a matter of clearing up that history of hers."

"Yeah, and she's reluctant to share much of it. If she tries applying for a job, something will show up." Phrixus said.

"I'd like to request to take on the cold case concerning Matriach Seshata's murder."

"Really? Why?" The turian's head popped up in alarm.

"Why not?" Sariel shrugged.

"There is no evidence linking that case to anyone." Phrixus's tone of voice was getting offensive. "I looked over it a thousand times."

"Yes, but you've just told me three things that make me doubt your capabilities a little concerning certain the circumstances of the case." Sariel said. "You always imagined more females throwing themselves at you, Apata had you blinded by her beauty, and you want to help Nine at all costs despite her apparent reluctance to much change. You're letting hormonal emotions get the better of you."

"I already told you, she's just a friend... you think Nine did it?" Phrixus asked. Sariel did not respond, his eyes reading Phrixus quietly**.** "I'll give you access to the files. You'll see pretty quickly, there is no DNA evidence connected to anyone on file. It is human DNA, yes, but... and the security was shut off..." Phrixus slide his talons across his fringe, then leaned up on the desk looking Sariel directly in the eyes.

"Matriarch Seshata was murdered by a biotic," he said, "Her head was smashed clear off and autopsy showed she suffered a great deal of internal trauma typically associated with a biotic attacks. All Nine did was find Seshata dead and report the crime. " He paused, finally noting Sariel's smug look. "What?"

"You're too focused on defending her, Telamon. You're not looking for a suspect." Sariel paced a little. "Nine was visiting the Matriarch's manor today for specific sentimental reasons. She was not revisiting the crime scene like a stupid criminal would. I already reviewed most of the evidence when I tracked her through you. You are correct, she had nothing to do with it. I just wish to do an investigation of my own to find the real murderer."

"I'll... think about it." Phrixus typed furiously on the holographic keyboard. "It would be a day or two anyways for the request to be submitted."

Sariel let out a disapproving groan. "Any way you could think about it a little faster? Perhaps just hand the data to me right now?"

"No." Phrixus shook his head. "All those rules and regulations, you know. I like to follow those." Sariel stared severely at Phrixus who appeared very pleased with himself and continued. "Are the regulations what drove you away from the law enforcement force on Kahje?"

"No. Boredom." Sariel began to pace the room again.

"Boredom? That's all?"

"Criminal activity when it comes to drell and hanar tend to be rather uneventful." Sariel pulled his omni-tool out once again. "I grew too restless and left." An echoing woman's voice came from the device. "There are nine choirs in heaven and there are nine rings in hell. Six will pass judgment." He replayed the recording, turning the sound up and leaning his head into the tool.

"So there are two Nines now? Or are you interpreting that differently?" Phrixus asked.

"Similar idea. One is giving us a warning. She must not have as much control over Six as she thought. He doesn't want to kill Nine."

"If Nine did hack the Alliance Data bases to alter the profile on Jesslyn, why would she still want Nine dead? Up until that woman committed suicide, Jesslyn had it easy."

"Nine was the most valuable asset in the gang. She gathered not just data, but credits and weapons. Abandoning the gang helped with the downfall of everything Jesslyn had built up. I also do not think Nine altered the profile for Jesslyn. Nine did it for the woman she replaced Jesslyn with, who was a biotic and a very mentally ill, and similar enough in appearance. If they have to investigate to find the serial number from the biotic implants, that means the woman Nine put in there was not of Alliance origins. She probably came from a low lying corporation on Earth that ran experiments for human biotics and now no longer exists."

"She had to have been important to Nine then."

"Correct. Considering that woman knew so much of the gang when I spoke to her..." Sariel trailed off, disturbed at the thought.

"She was from the gang." Phrixus said.

"She was either Ten or Thirteen." Sariel closed his eyes tightly. "They are the only ones left I haven't found." Both Phrixus and Sariel jumped a little when the door to the office slid open. In stomped a fuming Valer.

"Very funny!" Valer shouted. "I have an assignment. I need to get off the Citadel. Now! Take me off the Geth watch list. Now!"

"That was a very clever plan Phrixus." Sariel smirked and put his current thoughts aside for the moment.

"I'll take you off the list when you tell us where Nine is." Phrixus replied to Valer.

"She's safe. Don't worry about her. Take me off the list."

"Where is she?" Phrixus asked again.

"Resting. Take me off the list."

"Six is a dangerous serial killer and broke into that Matriach Sashta's manor." Phrixus said. "He stole a handful of weapons, meaning he is armed and dangerous. This is an issue to be taken care of by C-Sec. We need to know where Nine is."

"Technically Nine and Sariel broke into the home too. I guess you're going to ignore that. Nine's safe and resting." Valer glared back at Sariel before looking at Phrixus again. "Convinced her to stay put. She has no idea where Six is and neither do I. You figure that out. Take me off the list. Do not make me say it again." Valer became engulfed in the familiar blue haze.

"Why do you insist on such a weak form of intimidation?" Sariel asked. Valer turned towards the drell, the blue haze becoming an angry blaze when their eyes met.

"Slamming your ass into the floor with a table wasn't enough?" Valer walked towards him.

"Your biotics are a crutch." Sariel took a more challenging stance, his inky eyes glued to Valer's**.** "If your biotics were somehow disabled, I could crush you with the flick of a finger."

"Cut it out." Phrixus warned.

"I doubt it. Nine kicked your ass and she's vomiting herself inside out." Valer was not about to back down from the fight unless he had the final word.

"I was trying to prevent harming her in anyway." Sariel said. "She is still very ill, after all, and needs to see a doctor. It shouldn't be for any broken bones from when I capture her."

"Excuses." Valer turned to Phrixus. "Am I off the list yet?" Phrixus shook his head quietly. "I'm about to just go blast my way through customs. Get me off the list. Now! Not kidding."

"Your insecurities are remarkable." Sariel tried to coax Valer's attention back to him. It worked. Valer spun around, grabbing Sariel by the shirt and slamming him against the wall. Phrixus stood to intervene, but paused when he noted Sariel's hand coming out from behind Valer and waving him to stop. Then he slipped his hand into one of Valer's pockets. The whole time Sariel continued to goad Valer. "You can only lift me because you're cheating with biotics. I'm far too heavy for your frail salarian arms."

"Anywhere else, I would break you like glass." Valer growled.

"Another pathetic threat." Sariel chuckled a little as he lifted a metallic square from Valer's pocket. After slipping it into his own pocket, Sariel gave another wave signaling to Phrixus he got what they needed.

"I'm trying to play nice. I'm holding back. Shut your pompous mouth - otherwise every single one of those pretty white teeth of yours are going to be pulled out from the back of your skull."

"Just let him go, you're off the list Valer." Phrixus sat down appearing to be defeated and frustrated.

"Thank you." Valer dropped Sariel. The drell immediately went about fixing his shirt, wiping away an invisible filth left behind while the salarian stormed back out the door. After a short moment of silence, Phrixus spoke.

"What did you get out of his pocket?"

"A hotel room key." Sariel held the metallic square up.

"How the hell did you know he'd have that?"

"I didn't really. I just had a hunch he would have something on him." Sariel inspected the key for the hotel name. Along the top edge was Citadel Springs Hotel, italicized and in blue, room 112 level 208. "He is just like you and feels the need to look after her. She's ill. She needs fresh, clean water, a bed, a shower, overall basic needs. A secure hotel room or an apartment would be ideal. His rush to get his assignment done, when he was so casual about it before, means he plans to return to her as soon as possible. Her agreeing to stay here means she is waiting."

"They plan to meet Six later."

"Precisely."

"Well then." Phrixus stood from his desk. "I'll call off the search for Nine. Focus the attention to Six. Since I have that warrant now, I'll drop by Sashta's home for further investigation. You go meet with Nine."

"Why do I have to go to her? She's more likely to trust you over me." Meeting with Nine again was the last thing he wanted to do. Sariel wanted to search Sashta's home himself, both for the current case on Six and the cold case Phrixus was withholding.

"I'm trying to avoid appearing too connected to her. If everyone thought like you did, my job would be on the line for working on Sashta's murder investigation. Anyways, Nine has a history of wasting C-Sec money searching around the wards for her. If I call off the search on her and have it focused on Six instead, I'll probably be applauded." Phrixus closed out his computer, the holo keyboard disappearing. Then he walked around the desk. Sariel folded his arms glaring at Phrixus.

"This is my case and I think..."

"Finally!" Phrixus abruptly interrupted Sariel, "I don't know how long I can let you work on this before someone higher than me steps in with issues about it. I want to work with you because you know what you're doing and have been involved for some time. I just need to be careful, because you are technically a civilian taking matters into his own hands."

"I gave my credentials."

"Well, unfortunately that means nothing to C-Sec. Aside that, no one knows that you went on the property yet. I'll have to arrest you if it comes out, remember?"

"Yes, to protect yourself, as I recall." Sariel's tone was heavily sarcastic.

"Would you rather the entire case being taken from us and put into the hands of someone who knows nothing?" Sariel became very quiet. The turian detective was right, but Sariel wasn't about to say that out loud. Phrixus patted Sariel's shoulder and he shot a harsh glare. "Swallow your pride for now and go meet with Nine."

"That is reasonable. Perhaps I can get something out of Nine to help with both of the cases." He smiled a little. In reality, Sariel was fuming inside.

"Don't worry, when she's under real stress she gets real quiet and behaves." Phrixus said. The door opened again and Sariel immediately dropped his hand behind himself to hide the key. In walked a human doctor.

"Detective." She greeted them.

"Yes?" both Sariel and Phrixus responded.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant Detective Vier**.**" She handed a bag to him. "She just has viral gastroenteritis. A bad stomach virus. It's been going around humans on a lot of the merchant and cargo ships. Dehydration is the major concern next to eating of course. For food, I suggest cereals, bread, potatoes. Something soft and gentle, no sugars or dairy."

"And medication?" Sariel opened the bag and pulled out a full syringe.

The doctor continued, "The medication will help hydrate her and boost her immune system. All she really needs though is to rest and drink plenty of fluids till it clears up on its own. If you find this has been going on for more than two weeks, then bring her in for better care. I suspect from what you've told me, high levels of stress and constantly moving may be the real cause for the weight loss. Likely compromised her immune system and led to her becoming ill, but I would have to see her in person to be sure."

"How did you diagnose that without her being here?" Phrixus asked.

"Sariel brought me a sample of her stomach contents." The doctor nodded to him.

"So wait, you were just acting like I ordered you to hell and all along you planned to give her medication?"

"Ignore this minor detail." Sariel said as he walked towards the door way. "I'll report back as soon as possible. I'll avoid Nine knowing about it, hopefully it will help her trust in me. Report to me if anything develops."

"Sure thing." Phrixus said after him.


	7. Chapter 7

On the way to the hotel, Sariel made a stop by the markets partially because he wanted to delay the inevitable. He picked up some fresh warm rolls of bread and hot tea in a heating canister. A peace offering, he hoped, to ease the visitation with Nine. At the entrance of the hotel, he showed the room key to the doorman and mentioned Valer had sent him to bring medication and food for the special guest left alone in the room. The door person gave him the directions to the room without a second thought.

"That was easy." He mumbled to himself as the elevator lifted to the 208 level. Muffled rock music could be heard at the door of room 112. Sariel slid the metal key through the door's slot. It opened immediately and he walked into deafening music inside. The window blinds were shut and the room was dark save for the dim glow of an omni tool and a visor on a shadowy figure. The door shut just as swiftly behind him, blacking out the room. Sariel reached over to the side of the door, flicking the light switch but then completely froze when the room lit up.

There stood Nine, completely nude except for the visor and omni tool, the hair on her head was damp and stringy, but still wildly messy. Her skin was pale, sickly white, scarred, and despite having evidence of muscle, her frame was frail in appearance because of a great deal of weight loss. Sariel had spent some time studying the cultures of other species and it was clear that Nine did not practice the cultural phenomena amongst female humans to shave their legs. Though the hair was fairer and thinner than any male human, Sariel still found it a disgusting sight combined with everything else. Swollen breasts were just bizarre in general, asari, human, or quarian.

Though Sariel was determined to keep his eyes up to hers. The look over of her body was quick but the image was unfortunately well registered into his memory with every detail. She shook her head slowly. The music stopped when she tapped her omni tool.

"I don't know what's disgusted look on your face, or the fact you tracked me down this quickly. Don't you ever bother to knock like a proper gentleman?"

"With as loud as that horrendous music was, you wouldn't have heard me anyway." Sariel scowled. "Also, I don't think a proper lady would continue to stand in the nude either."

"Pft, I don't think a proper gentlemen would continue to stare."

"It is irrelevant. You're not the same species as I am." He tilted his head a little. "If it bothers you so much, why are you not rushing to cover yourself?"

"It is irrelevant." She mocked his voice with a croak. "You're not the same species as me." His eye ridges stiffened. Instead of doing anything at all, she went back to whatever she was working on before he came in.

"For both our sakes, just cover yourself, please."

"Or you can just leave." She didn't look up from her omni tool.

"No. I've brought you medicine and some bread to eat." He lifted the bag in his hand up. "Also green tea to drink. I have heard that is good for illnesses. Particularly in humans."

"I was serious when I said I don't know anything about where Six is or what he's doing."

"You have to know something. Six is too important for you to know nothing." He took a few more casual steps into the room.

"Then he is not important to me." She turned her tools off as she walked to the bathroom. When she disappeared he looked down to the coffee table. Laid out on it was a blue and black athletic, tech suit. "Awesome, isn't it?" She said as she reentered the room in a white robe, tying the cord around her waist.

"I... suppose...did you start feel cold?" He asked.

"As soon as you walked in." As she spoke she rolled the long sleeves up to her elbows.

"Why did you not have that on in the first place?"

"Haven't you ever done that? Have the place all to yourself. Just walk around naked."

"No." Sariel said flat out.

"Liar."

"Hmph."

"Besides I don't get to clean up very often and I don't carry extra cloths with me. Just the jacket and pants drying in the bathroom"

"Why would basic necessities be such an issue to handle?"

"Because staying in any place too long invites trouble. If I can't carry it in my pockets, I'm not carrying it. Then the usual places I stay in aren't entirely equipped like this room is. If Valer hadn't taken some extra measures I would be hiding in a dumpster right now." She knelt down and smoothed out one of the sleeves of the suit with a prideful grin.

"I made the suit myself." Nine's omni tool was on again. Sariel walked closer as she spoke, sitting quietly on the couch to observe the excitement she had talking about her suit."It only connects to my omni tool. Together they create powerful shields that protect me against pretty much everything. I'm updating and re-programing right now to ensure it stays that way. All kinds of cool little wires and chips in the material."

When she looked up at him, he felt as though this suit was the entirety of her life right now. "The materials will harden on impact so I'm protected from cuts, scraps, bruises, any situation that can result in sprains or minor bone breaking. Also it's full body bullet and plasma proof, should the extremely rare occasion occur where something breaks through the shields. It's flexible, comfortable, has a cooling and heating system, and it's water proof. Washer and dryer friendly. This suit also has optimum breast support, so I don't have to worry about a bra. People rarely think about that when they design suits for women, ya know." And just like that she was back looking at her omni tool, visor on. "Though it's a bitch to get off when I really need to pee."

"Who are you protecting yourself from?" The question hung in the air unanswered. After a few minutes he dropped the bag on the table with a thud. "It's obvious I'm no longer your biggest concern. I'm almost certain you've hacked and seen the evidence I've gathered. So you are no longer denying Six has committed these crimes. You probably feel betrayed, thus why it's so easy to say he is not important to you." She didn't move at all. Focused entirely on her suit as if he were not there.

After quietly studying her again he decided to properly arrange his peace offering. A quick search of the cupboards in the small kitchen and he found a plate and a few mugs. When he returned, the bag had been tipped off the table. A single warm roll of bread lay by the couch leg, the rest had fortunately remained inside. Nine behaved as though she had never moved at all. Just continued to work on her programming.

"I'm beginning to wonder if they were mistaken in thinking you were an adult." Sariel picked up the bag and set it on the table in plain sight again. Then he poured out the green tea into the two mugs and laid the rest of the fresh bread on the plate. Finally out came the syringe that he gently set on the table.

None of these things even drew a glance from her. The smell of the warm, fresh bread did wake his own stomach. A reminder that he'd had little time to eat and sleep for some time now. Consuming some of the peace offering would probably make the paranoid girl believe it was safe. He picked up a mug and sat back comfortably as he bit into a roll.

A gentle, pleased rumble came from his throat at the taste. He had never had green tea before. The beverage had the leafy taste of any tea, but was very soothing. He finished off the roll and picked up a second one. Before biting into this one he tried speaking to her again.

"I haven't had much faith in the old drell beliefs since I was a child. You, though, are a very convincing case. You detach yourself, you ignore that you are hurting your body and abuse it as a tool. Then you close out the reality of the world from your soul, to protect yourself from what you don't like."

Much to his dismay, she continued to work on her programing. After a more irritated bite from the bread, he raised his voice a little. "You need some medication. You need to rest. Take care of yourself. Otherwise out of all the things you hide from, it will be a simple stomach virus that kills you." Nine's head popped up as if a thought occurred to her. Somehow he knew she wasn't about to respond to him.

Every room in the hotel had a holovid set, though the one that now appeared in this room was modified. Instead of one small holo screen popping up on the wall, three large ones did. Various symbols and code of computer programming ran across the three screens. She examined each one, softly mumbling something inaudible.

Sariel leaned forward, clasping his hands together quietly beneath his chin, elbows steady on his knees. This wasn't being well behaved and silent as Phrixus has said. This was out right ignoring him. For a long moment his eyes burned into the back of her head in an attempt to command her to face him and speak to him. He only got half of that wish.

"Stop trying to analyze me." She did not turn, however her tone of voice hinted that she was smiling.

"Do not ignore me." He responded with a strict tone.

"If I wanted to ignore you I would've turned my music back on." She looked back to him, her lips in a small smile. "Analyzing is rude because you're not properly getting to know a person. Sure it's beneficial to analyze everything when you're solving a mystery. It's really just not the right way to interact with people. Also causing conflict with people as much as you do is pretty bad. You like a lot of drama." Sariel stood up from the couch and joined her in front of the screens.

"You've hacked and stolen a lot of personal information on myself and my colleagues as well as Valer and Phrixus. All to get to know us. How is that not worse?" Her lips pinched together.

"Your colleagues and my friends are big, fat tattle tales." She tapped hard on her omni tool a few times.

"To be fair." Sariel said. "Valer has done a good job in keeping quiet, much to our disadvantage."

"I have an idea. Let's analyze you and see how you like it." Nine bit her bottom lip, looking very pleased at the idea. The middle screen changed and up came a risqué picture of Sariel. In the shot he stood in front of a mirror, shirtless. With his back to the camera, displaying the white and black symmetrical V shaped design that plunged down his spine from his head. Between his shoulders branched out a faded white marking. The dark browns and light hazelnut of his scales seemed to enhance his sculpted body. His thumbs hung firmly from the rim of his already very low hanging pants, flexing his arm muscles. His large, dark eyes reflected off the mirror and seemed to follow the movements of the viewer with a mischievous, seductive look.

"Explain this. What is happening here?" Nine firmly pointed at the picture like a child. "What is your motivation in this highly sexual picture from a calendar of other highly sexual drell." She looked at him expecting a horrified response. Instead Sariel couldn't help proudly smiling about the picture that brought back fond memories. This provoked a soft smile from her though.

"My objective was to look as incredibly arousing and as sensuous as possibly to encourage sales." He shifted a little as he admired the picture. "The lighting was really just perfect for that shot."

"Mr. March." Nine said. "When I look at this picture, you seem very warm and sexy and I think you are trying to seduce me. Then I look at you, standing right next to me and I see an arrogant, narcissistic douche bag. It's very confusing."

"Actually considering the calendar year that picture was for, on the English Gregorian I would be somewhere between November and December." He turned to her. "Also you should address me appropriately as Sere. Not mister. Sere November has a nice ring to it."

"I actually would like to call you Sari."

"No." He slowly shook his head.

"Too bad." She hit the holo of her omni tool and the picture was abruptly covered in a mess of doodles made prior to his visit. Including horns on his forehead and a curly mustache on his upper lip. Sariel closed his eyes at the painful sight while she spoke with a small giggle in her voice. "That's much better."

She began to pace, mimicking his walk with her hands folded behind her back and holding her head in a self-aggrandizing way. Additionally she mocked his voice again, "You've been traveling completely alone for two years now, which is weird because you are the second oldest of ten kids." She waved her omni tool and the picture changed to a privileged drell family portrait, a much younger Sariel standing towards the back. She gave up her exaggerated imitation of him as it appeared very uncomfortable for her, speaking in her normal tone of voice.

"You have no friends. You have employees you use to get the job done." The Vier family picture was replaced with a video of Amek coming up behind Chase quickly. Amek beat Chase in the head repeatedly before the screen went black. Then the video repeated. "You've only met them in person a few times for work related issues. It's unclear why they help you or how you met them. Otherwise you have almost no current connections besides your family who you haven't spoken to in some time. You float alone around the galaxy, looking for problems to solve. If anyone is detaching themselves from reality, it's you Sari."

She turned the screen back to the programming codes, then continued her speech. "In fact, did you even thank Phrixus for helping and letting you do all this? I know it's probably killing him inside." She paused for a moment, now studying Sariel with a very critical eye. "When I looked over the reports from the other officers and detectives, it looks like they were all dicks towards you. You deserved it most of the time, but Phrixus is the first one who didn't freak out and try to keep you from getting involved in the case."

"I do realize that. He has pointed out that he is putting his job on the line for me. I'm using that to my advantage to solve this case." Sariel said.

"You are a major asshole."

"It's just business and Phrixus knows that. The other detectives were all human. Certain major cultural backgrounds of humans tend to have a perpetual fear of the reptilian creatures of your home world. These creatures tend to resemble my species. " He fluttered his eyes at her and found it provoked no reaction from her. "You seem to be one of those unique cases but considering your background with asari..."

"You look like a fish." Nine said. Oh! did Sariel wonder where that quiet, well behaved personality was that Phrixus had mentioned. "You have absolutely no reason at all to do what you do."

"I do it because no one else will. This case is not a big enough concern for the Spectres to be involved with yet. Not that it would matter anyways. The council seems to wish to avoid being involved in human issues lately. And the Alliance..."

"That is not what I meant! " She punched his arm with her gentler left hand. It was a little too flirtatious for Sariel's liking and he suddenly became very aware of what she was doing. "Go out and have drinks with a group of people will ya? I'm sure Chase and Amek wouldn't mind it. Hell, come hang out with Phrixus, Valer, and me next time. You can't be too superior for normal socializing."

She had turned all the attention to him and as much as he wouldn't mind talking about himself, it was a major distraction from the real issue. It was all very clever of her and would perhaps work on anyone else, like Phrixus and Valer. The flirtation was a mistake and Sariel was determined to get something out of her. He had to redirect the conversational power to himself.

"You did pay for that calendar, didn't you?" Sariel asked in a casual manner.

"Oh yeah, I totally paid for a single picture from an eight year old calender." She turned back to her suit. "It's only fair that I get this for free since you'll have a naked picture of me burned into your perfect drell memory forever."

"Believe me, it's more of a nightmare." She shot a glare at him. He continued quickly while he had her full attention. "If you had gone through the trouble of translating the calendar instead of jumping directly to drooling and doodling, you would have known the calendar was for a Kepral's charity. It was done when I was still a rookie officer back on Kahje."

She looked back at her suit. holding her head lower than usual. With a much more subdued tone he continued with something he was certain she was well aware of. "My mother is currently suffering and my father succumbed to it a year after the release of the calendar. He didn't like the calender much either. I also have a list of family and friends I could go on about when it comes to Kepral's. Then in a few more years I will have to make regular medical visits to see if I am next. Considering how many of my family have easily contracted Keprals, I have to say my future isn't looking too bright."

It was working. She had stopped typing on her omni tool and standing very uncomfortably. He exaggerated a sigh. "You are right though. I should contact my family. It has been some time since I've spoken to them." He smirked when she finally dropped her hands to her side. "You can request it to be translated to the English Gregorian calendar if you prefer."

"I will gladly donate two hundred credits for a very sexy calendar of a bunch of rookie cop drell." She turned to him with a mischievous smile. "It will help on those lonely nights anyways."

"How very kind of you." He didn't want to think about what she had meant. "Might I ask though, where would you get those credits?

"Don't worry about that."

"I'd rather it be clean, hard earned money," he warned.

"Not a problem." She returned to her focused mode. That hadn't lasted very long at all. She was silent, but irritatingly not well behaved. Only he knew far better now that she was not ignoring him. He then remember the now well smashed, warm roll that was still in his hand.

"You should try to eat some bread, you clearly haven't eaten in some time. Neither have I." He bit into the roll and exaggerated a hum at the taste. Like before, Nine did nothing. He continued to eat as he picked up another piece of bread. He quietly walked over and reached his arm out to wave it beneath her nose. She flinched and turned, immediately stepping away to gag.

"What the hell!" she shouted.

"I've brought you medicine. You'll feel a lot better in an hour if you take the injection."

"You're not going to stick me with a god damn needle!" She shivered a little. It was now very clear what the real issue was.

"Are you afraid of getting medicine through a syringe?" Sariel asked.

"No." Her voice had an unconvincing shrill to it. With a smile, he put the rolls down calmly onto the table and picked up the syringe.

"I promise it will be quick and painless." He stepped towards her cautiously.

"No." She walked away from him, keeping the table between them as they both circled it. "Is that how you convince people? Follow them with sharp objects?"

"You're right. That is an inappropriate way to approach someone." Sariel placed the needle back down on the table. Then he clasped his hands behind himself and stood quietly. Nine only glared at him. He was straining to keep a calm face but he was literally at the end of his rope dealing with her. He though to himself that he should just give up already. Eat the rest of the bread and sleep. He was there after all and she was safe. But no, that wouldn't do. He wouldn't be able to sleep with just that. She was still very ill, for only goddess knew how long and she was stubbornly refusing medical help.

Behind his back, he tapped his index finger against his other hand while he counted in his head. Then he lunged forward. using the table to get across and one of the table's legs snapped beneath his weight. She escaped up and over the couch, and he dropped face first into cushions. His knee slammed into the ground and hot tea spilled onto his back and legs. Sariel wailed in pain, falling over onto his side between the broken table and couch, cradling his aching knee. He felt the painful weight of the last couple of days compiling all at once in every inch of his muscles.

"Shit!" Nine rushed around the couch. Before she had the chance to kneel next to him, he used the last bit of strength he had to roll around and pull handcuffs out. She pivoted to escape, but Sariel tackled her and shoved her face down onto the ground, roughly grabbing each of her wrists in his hands.

"You ass!" She struggled against him. It was clear she was giving way to her own weakening body. She could hardly move.

"You're not going to try to shock me this time with your omni tool?" He asked as he firmly pulled her wrists together behind her back.

"I'm not blind, you're wearing gloves this time." Her breathing was ragged. The struggle ended and she allowed him to cuff her hands together. When he was sure she was secure, he shifted to sitting on her legs. She let out a strained gasp from the carpet. "Get off me you fat elcor!"

"This will only take a moment." He reached over for the syringe and a small plastic bag with antibacterial wipes inside.

"You know, this is actually kinda hot." She shifted a little to look back at him as he pulled out a soaked cloth from one of the packets. "You gonna stick it in my butt?" He paused to glare at her a moment. The playful smile on her face grew wider, "Please do be gentle. I've never had it in the butt before." He reached over to pull her sleeve and expose her shoulder.

"You are disgusting." He rubbed the wipe on her shoulder, then popped the lid off the needle.

"You're hot." She flinched when he abruptly jabbed the needle into her arm. "Fuck! What happened to painless?"

"I've lost all patience with you and I could not resist." Sariel injected the liquid into her then pulled the needle back out, wiping her shoulder again. "I'm sick of hearing the filth that comes out of your mouth. It's sad that Lady Sashta never bothered to teach you proper speech, let alone proper manners. This flirtation of yours, is this how you treat all the males you come in contact with? Like a teasing whore?" He held his hand on her shoulder for a moment, feeling an unusual heat coming from her. He then reached up to lightly touch her neck.

"Now whose got the filthy mouth? If anyone's a whore you are. You're a complete attention whore. And I don't treat every guy like this, that's asking for trouble. I haven't had any in...jeez I have no idea how long it's been since I've been laid. No wonder I'm so horny." She shivered a little when he put his hand on her face." Stop touching me like that if you're not interested."

"You have a very high fever." He said.

"Or about to blow chucks," she warned with a very deep breath.

"About to what?" He got his answer real quick as she began to vomit. He undid the cuffs and she rushed to the bathroom with her freed hands struggling to keep the contents of her mouth in. The smell was horrendous and he gagged. His appetite for the bread disappeared. He got up and twisted the shutters open, allowing fresh air in through the windows. After his head cleared he went to the bathroom. He pulled out a few towels, intent on cleaning the mess as soon as possible. Nine hung her head quietly over the toilet, her hair spread all around and hiding her face. "I should take you to the medical clinic. I have the feeling that the medicine may not be enough."

"Just leave me alone, damn it." Her desperate voice echoed from the toilet bowl.

"I'm trying to help you. Why can't you accept that?"

"You don't really care about me being sick." She lifted her head a little. "All you care about is getting information out of me and you're getting impatient about it." Sariel walked back out, the sound of a flushing toilet behind him. Being one of the eldest of several siblings, it wasn't the first time he had to do something like this when no one else was available for it. He threw the towels out to soak up the mess, kneeling with a wince before beginning to pick up the rolls of bread.

The sound of running shower water came from the bathroom. Otherwise there was nothing but silence. When he began to rub the towel a little into the carpet, every ache and pain was torturing him. It became too much and he sat down on the floor, leaning back against the couch. The all too familiar feeling that his mind was about to slip into a bad memory came on. He tried to fight it, redirect himself to a much more pleasant one. Only as any drell knew, memories of despair were the most difficult to avoid. He could feel the memory of her grey eyes crawling at the back of his skull. Almost as though she were behind him, staring at him.

"Four hours, sitting in this chair. Revisiting Kirra's death over and over. Blood everywhere. They don't believe me. The officer asks again," Sariel's voice changed,

"Then why did you try to clean the mess?' " Sariel's voice switched back to normal,

" 'I didn't try to clean the mess,' I struggle to keep the memory from coming again. I can't take much more of this. I yell, 'I was trying to stop her bleeding! Trying to save her!'

This officer is trying to coax me into false confession, 'I don't buy this memory thing of yours. There is no evidence of anyone else being there but you. We found the weapon you stabbed her with. There is no point in denying it. Just admit the truth. '

I slam my hands on the table,' You can't be serious! The real murderer is getting away, he took the weapon with him, and you're wasting my time! We have to stop him before he has the chance to reach Nine...I can't let her die too...'

He laughs , 'Yes, yes you're a detective and you've been following a serial killer all over the galaxy.'

'I gave you my credentials and the evidence. Go look outside the window of Kirra's apartment, you'll see a blood trail and a clue he dropped, I'm sure of it.'

'You gave us fake data.'

'I gave you proof that this man has murdered in cold...blood...' Kirra's desperate eyes are staring at me. No, no, no.

'Just tell me what really happened. Tell me the truth!''

I lose the fight to keep the memory away. The words spill out of my mouth, again. My chest hurts. The officer has had enough of hearing it as well. He attacks me, beats me to make it stop. I snap out of it to defend myself. I break his arm. Other officers run into the room and I allow them to handcuff me..."

Back into reality Sariel found himself leaning against the couch, staring at the opening of the very silent bathroom. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement and jumped a little to look over. Nine was sitting right next to him. Her hair had been soaked and slicked back out of her face. Her cheeks flushed in a rising fever.

"No wonder you're such a toad." She said.

"Toad?"

"I'd say ass again, but I'm trying to refrain from swearing since it offends you so much."

"How considerate of you." He leaned his head back, placing his hand on his aching knee. After a short silence, she spoke softly.

"This old, bitter... contact war veteran... turian, C-Sec detective interrogated me about Sashta's death. He wasn't kind." Her voice was shaky."I was restrained. Not that I could have defended myself against him anyways. He was so certain I did it. He just got more and more pissed the longer he had me in there, the more I claimed to be innocent. I don't even remember what happened, in the end I woke up in the med lab. Bandaged up and in some serious pain. No one was around. So I took the chance and I ran. Got off the Citadel before they had a chance to realize I was missing."

"There was no mention of that in the C-Sec reports." Sariel said.

"Of course not. Ask Phrixus if you want proof. It's not the first time a turian beat a suspect for evidence and left it out of the reports. That's not Phrixus's style though."

"The turian detective that interrogated you. You looked into his personal life to find out he was a contact war veteran didn't you?"

"Kiryk had a lot of bad things happen to him, his family and friends, because of humans during the war. So I understand why he was so prejudice against me. When Phrixus proved I was innocent, Kiryk immediately retired."

"Do you forgive him?" Sariel asked.

"Yes. I don't know if he retired out of guilt or anger, maybe both. He doesn't keep a journal. He's just from another time and place, with a lot of pride in the turian race. He's a great grandfather. Those turian grandchildren of his love him."

"If you go through the trouble to understand why Kiryk treated you like that and have forgiven him, then why do you refuse to understand and speak to me about finding Six?" Nine sighed, appearing very uncomfortable.

"Six isn't well. The way he looked at me...it was like he wasn't really looking _at_ me. Then the way he spoke to me." She leaned in close to Sariel, speaking in a low voice as if someone would hear them. Surprisingly, her breath was minty. "Do you remember as a kid when adults would hide things from you. You'd question and they'd dodge it or outright lie to you, but you'd always know they were hiding something."

"Frequently. I was a very intelligent child and developed my observation talents early."

"Of course." She rolled her eyes. "When I was talking to him earlier, before we separated, I was just a kid to him. Something isn't right about his mind right now. He needs help. It's like he's stuck in the past."

"You want to help him. Like you helped that woman you put in place of One."

"Her name was Ten and I don't want to help him like I tried to help her." She was avoiding eye contact with him as she spoke. He sensed it wasn't so much that she was lying somewhere, but she was not comfortable talking about any of this with him. They were bad memories. "We all knew that Ten's mind was going. Before everything fell apart, I remember overhearing One talking with Thirteen and Eight about putting Ten out of her misery in order to protect the gang. As if she were some messed up dog. Later on, when I found out the Alliance was getting her some of the best help in the galaxy because they thought Ten was One, I had to make sure it happened. So I swapped their identities. It was useless in the end. I shouldn't have done it. Should have just handed One over and let Ten go. "

"It was a mistake, yes," Sariel nodded," but you couldn't have known any of this would happen. You were a child and you wanted to help someone you cared for. You meant well."

"I'd rather just hand Six over to the right authorities, in the right way. Maybe then nothing bad will happen." She closed her eyes tightly. Her own words didn't seem to be very convincing for her. He then asked.

"When are you meeting with Six?" Her head jolted up and she stared at him, surprised. He continued explaining, "It's obvious you are waiting. You are not actively searching for him, you are waiting."

"Tomorrow..." She shook her head. "I don't know what he's doing or where he is now. He's hiding really well. Valer and I decided to wait till then."

"Valer will be back in time?"

"Naturally."

"Where and what time?"

"I'm not going to tell you that much. We'll discuss the rest of the plans later. I'd rather not think about it right now." Sariel nodded. He wanted to know more, but confirmation and the knowledge that Valer and Nine were on the right side of things were satisfactory. She was shivering now. He was sure though that after the plans went through, he'd never have another chance to speak to her again. Just a few more questions popped into his head, questions unrelated to the plans to capture Six.

"What was Ten's real name? I want to properly identify her for the Alliance."

"Her birth name was Amber Wynn." He was surprised she had given that away so easily. It made him curious.

"And Six?"

"Robert. Never learned his last name."

"What is your birth name?" He asked. Nine wrinkled her nose.

"Nine." She said.

"Nine is a number. It is not the name of a person." He said. She abruptly changed the subject.

"I was fighting with myself in finding them a little while back. Part of me wanted to look everyone up. I just believed it was a step in the wrong direction. I knew that One would want to start over and I didn't want to fall back into the gang. Then you show up and I was right. She was restarting, only instead everyone is like me and did no want to go back to her. Now they are dead as punishment and Six really is killing them and I just..." She took a deep, hard breath.

"I'm doing everything in my power to bring justice for them. For you."

"I don't care for revenge. Revenge is the reason my life is screwed up right now." She wrapped the robe's strap in between her fingers nervously. "All I can do is fix what I can and hide from what I can't fix. I want Six to get help. Something is still in his head that's right if he cares enough to try to spare me. The others. They're dead. As much as it hurts like hell I can't focus on that right now."

"Just don't think at all." Sariel said. "You really should get some sleep. It has been a lot for you to take in and you are ill. If your conditions worsens, I'll take you to the nearest medical facility myself, kicking and screaming if necessary." He reached over to the soaked towels on the floor, balling them all up.

"You should too." She spoke with a very soft tone of voice. "You haven't slept in some time. I'll help you finish cleaning first."


	8. Chapter 8

Quietly, Nine and Sariel finished cleaning the mess. They tried to fix the table and found it irreparable. It had apparently very weak, bendable, snap-able metal legs that had stood no chance against Sariel stepping on the table.

"Val can pay for it." Nine grinned. With a long yawn she went to slide under the sheets of the bed. "It's a big bed, you can share with me. Promise I won't touch you." She winked.

"No thank you. I'm perfectly content with the couch."

"Oh, that can't be very comfortable. Especially with the smell of cleaner and vomit over there."

"I'm trying to be a gentleman." He smiled as she stuck her tongue out at him. Without another word, he turned to the bathroom to clean himself up a bit. When he stepped back out, she was already asleep. He lightly touched her forehead to check her temperature. She was drenched in sweat, but a little research on the extranet proved that sweating was a good sign. The fever had broken. Well assured that he didn't have to carry her to a medical facility after all, he made himself comfortable on the couch and sent a quick message to Phrixus.

"_Nine is safe, still a little ill but showing improvements and finally sleeping. I was able to give her the medication. The only valuable information I received from her on Six is as I thought. There will be a meeting tomorrow and she agreed to tell me more later. I didn't want to__ question her further and __abuse her condition too much at this time. It appears we have plenty of time until the meeting. Valer will be returning for it. I'm about to take__ some much needed rest myself and will message you again with further plans. Do you have anything you need to tell me?__"_

After about ten minutes waiting for a response, his drooping eyes got the better of him and he drifted off to sleep. It wasn't exactly a pleasant dream. The memory he tried to avoid previously had worked its way back up in his sleep, only it ended very differently. Nine had come into the room instead of the local authorities. He had sat on the floor and watched her pull a clean white blanket over Kirra's bloodied body. When the blanket collapsed had down, it fell flat as though nothing were there.

She then sat next to him and pulled out of her jacket a wet, cool cloth that she used to wipe the blood off his scales. Then strangely she spoke in his native tongue.

"You stopped my murder. You saved me. No more bad memories."

When he woke again, it was to the sound of Valer's nasally voice. The salarian was spouting out measurements, angles and room numbers. Sariel rolled over on the couch, wincing at the light of a bright blue and white holo. Nine seemed to notice his waking and interrupted Valer,

"Oh poo. I wanted to give him a kiss to wake him up."

"Disgusting," Valer said. When Sariel's eyes adjusted he saw the holo was a model of a section of the presidium. A bridge reaching over the lake had the figure of a person standing at one end.

Valer stood at one end of the holo, Nine at the other, with the holo projecting from her hand. She was fully dressed and her hair was already back to its previous chaotic state. Her skin color had returned to a much more natural color, eyes bright and healthy. More importantly, in her other hand was a half eaten roll. Where it had come from was another story. Sariel was certain he had thrown them out after they had been on the floor. It was a step backwards on the road to improving her health, but none the less a very good sign.

Valer spoke rapidly. "Sorry I'm late. Hit a snag on Bekenstein. Not that it really mattered to either of you, _sleeping_." Valer hissed then cleared his throat. "Six has an M-92 Mantis. He isn't very experienced with sniper rifles and will probably be fumbling around with the thing more than firing." Valer reached into the hologram and with a bony finger circled a section of low levels in the nearby apartment building. "He'll most likely take position here. It's low, and he'll have clear, easy shots. Sariel, just head to C-Sec and alert Phrixus. We'll need some small patrols in the area. I'll be quietly scouting through the building and when I find him, I'll drop him off for them. You just stay clear of the area."

"I'm sorry, I just woke up. I need context to what you are talking about." Sariel swung his feet onto the floor.

Valer stared at Sariel a moment then immediately looked over at Nine. "You didn't tell him?"

Nine rubbed her forehead. "I wasn't feeling very well, give me a break."

"What is going on?" Sariel asked.

"We believe Six and One are trying to set up a trap to kill you, not her. Just stay clear of the presidium and you'll be fine," Valer said. Sariel stood up and looked over at the hologram.

"That doesn't make any sense." The recording from One was replaying in Sariel's head, every little clue and part of the mystery. Still, he took the time to consider the possibility. Refocused everything to see himself as the target. The lack of sleep, eating, and general stress may have hindered his thinking as well. "Why would they be after me?"

"Oh, I don't know!" Valer threw his arms in the air, his voice raising. "Maybe it has to do with the fact that you've sabotaged everything."

"You're my replacement." Nine said. "One hates you for interfering. Six is taking advantage of that to save me."

"What evidence do you have?" Sariel asked.

"He asked me to meet him on the west side of the bridge and he refused to tell me why. He did tell me he was going to take care of a thorn in his side. We found out from Phrixus's C-Sec report that he had stolen some weapons, including the sniper rifle. It was too obvious a set up. Meeting out in the open like that, on the Presidium of all places? I would be spotted and followed for sure. Not the greatest plan, since anyone could follow me and any C-Sec officer could try to arrest me. He obviously expects you to show up too."

"He also didn't expect you to steal my key and find Nine so soon," Valer added in a slightly agitated tone. Sariel shook his head.

"That's not right. Why would One warn me if she really wanted to kill me instead?"

"She warned you?" Nine's voice sounded weak.

"Yes." Sariel pulled his omni tool out and played the recording. It seemed to hit Nine hard. The holo flickered off as her hand dropped to her side lifelessly. She was still in some level of denial.

As soon as the recording finished, Valer spoke. "What did I tell you!"

"That's not One's voice." Nine yelled back.

"You can't really recognize the voice. It's clearly altered." Valer said.

"Where did that come from anyways? Phrixus didn't mention it in his report at all..."

"Either way, it's a warning." Sariel rubbed the scales on the back of his neck uncomfortably. "She is warning that Six is a threat to two individuals. It is likely that Six would pick me as an alternative. Since she is warning me, it simply means Six is not listening to Jesslyn. She still wants you dead, Nine. And she wouldn't mind if I were put out of the way either. She wants to see things played out. It's a game to her"

"Do we have any idea if One is actually here?" Nine asked.

"No." Sariel replayed the recording again.

"Six doesn't want to hurt me. This is our only chance at capturing Six. If I don't at least show up, we could lose him for good. He is our biggest chance at finding One and I really don't want to know what she will decide to do to him because he isn't listening to her."

Sariel played the recording again. Like Chase had said, the woman had tried to hide something in the background in addition to her? own voice. It was a faint, distorted pattern of noise. His issue was that Valer and Nine continued to talk as if he wasn't there.

"He's trapped here on the Citadel," Valer said. "He can't hide here forever. He won't be able to move to the other wards, considering how tight C-Sec security is these day."

"Please, be quiet," Sariel requested. His words went unnoticed though, as if they had their translators muted to his language.

"Are you seriously suggesting we be patient and let C-Sec take care of it? You of all people?" Nine asked.

"Our plan isn't solid enough."

"If I could have some silence please?" Sariel raised his voice this time. The sound of the recording changed drastically, causing him to jump. He looked over at Nine as she waved her omni-tool hand at him. Then she turned to Valer again. The sound Sariel was trying to hear was much more distinct now. It was the beat of music.

"So are your awesome STG skills so utter crap that it would take you more than a full hour to get through those levels to find him?" Nine asked.

"I've had enough of you! I need food!" Valer stomped towards the kitchen. There was a clatter of noise that echoed back.

"Nine, do you know how Six got into Sashta's home?" Sariel asked.

"He must have followed me," Nine said. "There is no other way he could have gotten into that house."

"You can't go out there." Valer reentered the room with a unique looking sandwich in his three fingered hands. He ate it rapidly, hardly chewing the bites he took.

"Do you have a better plan, Val?" Nine asked. Valer paused temporarily in eating. His lips curled high up and his black eyes narrowed as he looked toward Sariel. "Something that doesn't involve injury to Sariel."

"Just update his omni-tool to give him a proper shield. Then send him out there. I just need Six to fire one shot and I'll find him real quick." Valer started to gobble the sandwich again.

"It doesn't work like that..." Nine shook her head.

"Silence!" Sariel shouted. Val opened his mouth to shout and only held back at the noise in the background of the recording.

"It's the music from the Vex club," Nine said.

"Why didn't I realize this earlier?" Sariel was in disbelief. "Whoever this is was there. Six was going to meet this woman there. That's why he showed up in the first place."

"Oh, now you believe that's not One?" Nine said.

"As paranoid as you are, you would have recognized her first thing and gone into hiding. Then again Jesslyn could have done the same."

"There's no time for this." Valer swallowed the last bit of his sandwich. "Nine-and-or-C-Sec need to be out there within the hour, and I need to disappear as soon as he's in custody. In fact,I was never here in the first place." Valer pointed at Sariel in warning. "Either we're sticking with the current plan or we're changing it."

"My shields will last at least 5 shots. That gives you plenty of time to locate him and I doubt he'd keep firing even for that long." Nine said.

"We should stick to this plan then," Sariel said. "Clearly there are multiple people helping Six and if we don't take the chance now, he could escape the Citadel entirely. He managed to get through customs somehow and he has been well hidden all along. Someone was planning to meet Six at the Vex nightclub but did not plan for any of us to be there. In addition to all this, Nine was told to meet him on the bridge before getting a sniper rifle. They are using that manor as a base."

"Then how did they get in there if they weren't following me?" There was a short, silent pause in the room. Then Nine shook her head. "No. No. Zahra can't be involved."

"It makes sense. Zahra holds a grudge against you that Jesslyn manipulated in order to get her to pay for everything. This explains the financial source that has been moving Six around the galaxy so quickly. Jesslyn hasn't left any hard evidence that can be traced back to her. Right now, all we have is circumstantial. Zahra would appear to be the mastermind behind everything if it all falls through. If we can at least capture Six, offer immunity with psychological help..."

"He doesn't need psychological help," Valer interrupted. "He needs to be put down."

"We are going to properly arrest him," Sariel argued. "And we're going to use him to find all of the suspects. In order to get him to talk, we need to offer him something he wants. Something he needs."

"I will gladly find and take care of One and Zahra and everyone involved myself," Valer shouted back. "If a couple of my siblings killed off most of my family like this, I'd kill _them_. No exceptions."

"But this is my family." Nine said calmly, her face was stone cold. "Maybe it's easy for you to do that but I just wouldn't be able to sleep at night. I want to fix my mistakes. One needs to be handed over to the Alliance to be dealt with. If Zahra is involved, she needs to learn to deal with our mother's death and accept I had nothing to do with it. Six is just sick."

"Fix your mistakes? You were a child. You didn't know better," Valer said.

"I know better now," Nine said.

"Time is short." Sariel walked to the door. "I'll head back to C-Sec and on the way send a message to Phrixus of our plans. Valer, I beg you to listen to your friend."

"Get the hell out of here already." Valer said.


	9. Chapter 9

There was an odd beep. Sariel was a few feet away from the C-Sec offices and when he lifted his omni-tool to see there was a message from Phrixus. It was in response to the message Sariel had just sent on the shuttle ride over.

_Nine was firewalling your messages. I just saw both of your messages. I was taken off the case and there is a warrant for your arrest. I'm trying to deal with my superiors now. Do not go back to C-Sec, I doubt telling them about this meeting is going to change things right now. I'll get back to you in a bit._

Sariel looked up to see a uniformed human and a turian standing by the entrance of C-Sec, eyes directly on him.

"This is not good," he mumbled. It appeared that his free ride on the case with Phrixus had ended. The C-Sec officers at the entrance began to approach him with very clear intentions in their eyes. Immediately Sariel turned back for the taxi he arrived in.

"Hey! Stop!" the turian officer shouted after him. Sariel took off in a full sprint. The shuttle taxi was fortunately still where he had left it. He got in and took off for the presidium.

"I'll just lead them there then," he said to himself as he increased the speed of the shuttle. His omni-tool was now binging rapidly as several messages flooded his inbox. There were a few from C-Sec requesting him to come in, one from Phrixus trying to warn him, and finally several from Chase and Amek. The timing of their messages showed that they must have caught wind of the situation. He barely had much chance to look them over when all the lights within the vehicle turned to an emergency red. A friendly VI's voice came over the speakers.

"C-Sec has taken control of this vehicle. Please remain secure and seated while the shuttle is brought to a stop."

"Damn it!" Sariel dialed on the com for Chase and Amek while the shuttle began to pull out of traffic. "Come on. Answer."

"Sariel?" Chase's voice came over the com. "What the hell is going on, we've been trying to contact you."

"No time. I'm linking you to this shuttle. I need you to override C-Sec's control."

"What! That's..."

"Just do it or we may lose Six. I'll deal with the consequences, including the long distance costs later."

"I...I'll try." Over the com Sariel could hear clicks as Chase tried to hack the shuttle. By now the shuttle had landed in the parking lot. Sariel looked out the window to see a few C-Sec vehicles had landed near him, lights flashing. A curious crowd of people had gathered at the edge of the lot.

"Hurry!" Sariel shouted, sinking low in the chair.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Chase said. The officers came out of their shuttles, walking across the platform very casually but with weapons out. The lights inside the vehicle finally changed back to normal.

"C-Sec control released."

"Yes, Goddess bless, thank you!" Sariel reached out for the controls and the shuttle lifted up without hesitation. The glass cracked as the C-Sec officers fired at the taxi and then scrambled for their shuttles.

"With all the security going on there, you'd think that would have been more difficult." Chase said.

"They do not expect geth to try to hijack taxis." Sariel leaned over to look out the side window. He could see the flashing lights of the C-Sec shuttles following. He swerved in and out of lines of traffic, using them delay the pursuing officers and get himself ahead.

"They're trying to gain control back. I'm keeping them out."

"Thank you. Where is Amek?"

"He's been on a house call. Are you going to fill me in on what's going on now?"

"Just focus on keeping them out. I'm almost to the Presidium." A C-Sec shuttle slammed into the side of the taxi and the VI's voice returned.

"You have been in an accident. Please stop the vehicle immediately."

"What happened?" Chase shouted.

"They're trying to kill me!" Sariel shouted as he sped the taxi up. He swerved around traffic, trying to avoid the new shuttle now chasing him. Up ahead, there was a brightly lit sign indicating the off ramp tunnel that led into the Presidium. He waited until nearly the last moment, then turned abruptly into the tunnel, narrowly missing another shuttle that was turning in.

"They're kicking their counter hack into high gear, Sariel, how much longer?"

"Just a little further..." He pulled up the Presidium map in the shuttle's navigation system, looking for the location of the apartments.

"Location selected," the VI said. "You have been in an accident."

"I know," Sariel said.

"Please pull over immediately."

"Not now."

"Uh oh!" Chase's voice cut out.

"Uh oh?" Sariel looked at his omni tool. "Chase?" The connection had been blocked. All the lights within the vehicle turned to the emergency red again.

"C-Sec has taken control of this vehicle. Please remain secure and seated while the shuttle is brought to a stop." The shuttle turned down another tunnel leading to a parking platform.

"Damn it." He looked over the map, scanning every detail for any path leading up to his destination. There were a few paths he could take and he was just close enough to run the rest of the way. They may have been chasing him, but they all were aware of Six. If Six made an appearance at the apartments, priorities would change. Gently, the shuttle came to its final landing. The damage from the C-Sec shuttled had broken the taxi's door enough that it did not lock properly. Sariel kicked it open and immediately jumped out, running through the lot as it flickered with lights from the C-Sec vehicles.

"Stop now!"

Sariel could hear someone shouting after him. He concentrated on the memory of the map. Turn here and there, climb up stairs and run through crowds. At one turn there stood a line of C-Sec officers with weapons drawn. He made a quick path change. Their control of the taxi must have revealed the location he had selected on the map. He had to be a little creative with the rest of his run, using very narrow alleys to squeeze through. Soon he reached one of the possible elevator routes. It would lead directly to apartments. The doors shut quickly behind him and the elevator shot up. He leaned against the side, breathing hard. There was no doubt in his mind they would be waiting at the entrance of the apartments for him.

"Arashu, great goddess, I know I haven't always been the most faithful but please give me protection." The secondary elevator doors opened. He turned to look out of the lift and there stood several C-Sec officers at the entrance of the apartments. Much more than he anticipated. He slammed his hand against the controls and the doors shut. "Sorry, that is far beyond your powers." With any luck, they hadn't seen him. He then looked at what he had pressed, the elevator was heading for the presidium.

"They'll be guarding the other entrance for sure," he mumbled to himself, "There's no way Six will escape that place now, they'll have all exits and entrances blocked. Just need to figure out how to get Six out in the open."

The primary doors opened again; he could see clear across the way to the bridge. There stood Nine, leaning against the railing and fiddling with her omni-tool. There were no C-Sec officers in sight. Only the usual presidium crowd enjoying the bright, false sunlight. Valer's earlier suggestion came to mind. Go out to the bridge and get Six to start firing. If Valer were fast enough and if Six was as much a crack shot as they all believed, Sariel might survive. He might even get far enough to seek protection behind Nine's shields. He cringed at the thought of having to cling to Nine for this.

"I see that you have a sense of humor, Arashu." He stepped out cautiously, scanning the area one more time. Then he began to walk quickly towards the bridge. After reaching a certain point away from the building, he spotted the other entrance to the apartments. C-Sec officers guarded the entrance watching the presidium carefully. They would notice him as soon as he reached the bridge for sure. When he looked back to begin the climb up the ramp of the bridge he saw Nine staring directly at him with a baffled look on her face.

"Sariel Vier! Stop right now! You are under arrest!"

He didn't bother to look back at who was shouting, just kept walking towards Nine. Partway there, her eyes shot up and a look of horror crossed her face.

"Run, run!" he thought to himself as he barreled towards her. Almost as though she had read his mind, she lunged toward him.

"Down!" she shouted as she shoved him to the floor of the bridge. The explosive shot that hit her shields blinded and deafened him for a moment. He could scarcely make out the sounds of a panic amongst the local presidium crowd.

"Curl up, stay low." Nine's voice came in clear as day as she wrapped her arms around him. Another shot. It seemed as though the inside of her shield provided some sort of buffer against the noise. "Shit! I get it, Valer, you were right. Just stop him." Then came another shot and she whispered under her breath, "I'm sorry Six...I'm so sorry."

Sariel looked up to see that she had her eyes tightly closed. Another shot pinged off her shields. "Val, that's four shots!" Nine cried.

An eerie silence fell on the area. Sariel's hearing finally cleared enough that he could hear the lake and its fountains. He looked up and over Nine's shoulder. "Keep down," she whispered.

"He's stopped," Sariel said. A few C-Sec officers remained at a safe distance, hesitating to approach the bridge in case more shooting began. The other officers had all gone inside the apartment building to locate the shooter. The area had mostly cleared of civilians but a few curious on-lookers had remained to stare on the far outskirts. That was when a fire alarm echoed from the apartments and in the next few moments, people poured out of the building.

"Valer?" Nine held her hand to her ear. "Did you find him?" She pulled up her omni-tool, a small map holo appearing above it. A flashing light was moving along at the lower level. "Six triggered a fire alarm and slipped through a fire exit on the west side. He's heading down back for the wards, but Valer's on him. You need to be the one to turn him in though. Valer isn't really here, please remember that."

"I am not one to forget." Sariel said. They both stood up looking over at the unfolding chaos exiting the apartment building.

"Well this is an opportune time to get a head start on C-Sec." Sariel led her back to the elevator while she again pulled the holo. The blinking light was still moving. "What happens to you?" He asked her.

"I'll keep running. You're the hero, not me. None of this would have happened if you hadn't started looking into it. Thank you. I owe you a lot." The hell he had gone through suddenly didn't seem nearly as bad as it did before. This was still Nine and he still disliked her, but the simple fact that she was thanking him that made him feel more pride in his work. "Val dropped the tracker. He must have caught Six. They're barely three blocks away. You got this memorized?" She pointed to the holo map.

"Yes, of course. But I'll still need your help with something after this. Please don't leave yet. " The elevators doors opened. There were just as many people below as there were above and C-Sec had its hands full with the large crowd.

"I'll think about it. You lead, I'll follow." Nine gave him a push out the doors as some of the people entered the elevator. Sariel followed the path, trusting his memory again. Behind him, he could hear Nine wheezing hard. She was not completely well yet.

He then noticed the horrified look on a passing asari's face. He turned to Nine in time to see a human male run out of the crowd, firing a pistol at Nine. Clearly stunned and out of breath, Nine lost her balance and tripped over her own legs. She emitted a small shriek she dropped to the ground. In a blink of an eye, Sariel had wrapped his arm around the man's limb, twisting it, the gun firing into the ground away from Nine. Sariel's free fist swung around and nailed the unknown man in the back of the head with a loud crack. Then Sariel dropped the man onto his belly, hard against the metal floor, and handcuffed him without a second thought. The man couldn't even struggle, just lay there in a half conscious daze. Sariel looked over at Nine who had sat up with her mouth opened wide. Her breathing had hardly calmed down.

"If you had done that earlier, you would have caught me a lot easier," she laughed a little as she got up.

"I didn't want to harm you earlier." Sariel stood up straight, taking a cloth out of his jacket and wiping his hands, "I may have just killed this man with that hit to the back of the skull."

"Wait, that's..." Nine bent over a little, "Thirteen? Oh wow. He looks so old... he must still be working for One. There is no way he just happens to be here." The shouts of C-Sec officers echoed around the area.

"We'll leave him for the officers. We're almost there, a few more blocks. Do you think you can make it?" Sariel asked.

"Yes. Don't worry about me." she shook her head and pushed him in a random direction.

"No. This way." He turned to another direction and took off down the hallway. He could hear her short breath following close behind him. They finally came to the darkened ally where the tracker had been dropped. There was no immediate sign of anyone in the area. Only a dumpster, several freights of recyclables from a restaurant, and a deactivated kiosk decorated the area.

"Six? Are you here?" Nine was breathless, but managed to still yell. There was a familiarity to the area that made Sariel feel sick to his stomach. The distinct smell of blood was hanging in the air. It didn't take long to find Six when they walked around. Sariel noticed Nine freeze when she looked on the other side of the dumpster. When he came around to see what she was staring at, he felt even more ill. There was Six on the floor, in a large puddle of blood; blood splattered the wall above him; half of his head was gone and the remaining dead eye stared at them. Sariel put his hand on her shoulder and gently tried to pull her away.

"Don't look." Sariel was prepared for some grieved reaction from her. Instead she oddly remained frozen in place. He leaned forward to try and get her attention away from the sight.

"I've seen this before," her voice was a drone. "It's nothing new."

"That does not excuse staring at someone you care for like this."

"This is how we met. This is how it ends. Behind a dumpster. He had found an abandoned, crying, little baby girl. He told me it was the first time he had ever found a baby alive while digging for food and he couldn't let her die too." A thud behind them caught Sariel's attention. Nine didn't even flinch. There stood Valer and at his feet was an unconscious woman tied up. A shot gun was tangled among the mass of bindings.

"I'm sorry. I tried. "Valer spoke with a much slower pace than usual. Nine barely turned her head, just enough so that her ear could gather his voice.

"I know," Nine nodded.

"What happened?" Sariel asked.

"I think he came here to meet with her. She just shot him without even giving him the chance to speak. I hardly even had the chance to stop her." Valer awkwardly opened his mouth to continue, only air came out. Then he scowled at Sariel as though his presence was a problem. Without anything further Valer looked down one end of the alleyway, then turned the other way taking off into the shadows.

"Do you recognize her?" Sariel tugged on her shoulder again to get her to turn her eyes away from the corpse. She only glanced without really looking at the unconscious woman.

"No." Nine shook her head.

"Will you stop it?" Sariel grabbed both her shoulders and turned her to him.

"You have pretty gold eyes you know." At the very least her trance was redirected.

"I know you wish to run and hide. I know you want to pretend this didn't happen, but please don't. Please help me." The shouts of C-Sec officers began to echo. Sariel tightened his grip in case she tried to run.

"Why?" she asked.

"Phrixus was taken off the case. They chased me here to arrest me, not Six. Resisting arrest is not going to look good on me. Finding me here alone is not going to look very good on me at all. Most importantly, if you leave now, Jesslyn may never be captured. I just need you to do one small technical favor. I am begging you to just hang on and be just a little revengeful. It will benefit all of us, even you in the end."

"What more could I possibly do for you that will convince them to change their decisions?"

"Earlier you said you swapped Jesslyn's and Amber's data. Where are Jesslyn's Alliance files now?" It was like his words woke something in her. Her attitude changed quick.

"Get me access to my old terminal in Shasta's manor and those files are yours."

"Tech forensics already went through that computer. They would have noticed Alliance files on the hard drive."

"Again, it is _my_ old personal terminal computer. They couldn't even find my diary that they know Sashta forced me to write. Believe me it's in there. I just can't access it remotely right now because someone pulled the power on it. With Ten gone, there's no use in hiding them anymore."

"Over here!" A voice hollered. C-Sec had finally found them.

"Believe me, after this most of your problems are going to disappear and you won't need to run anymore." Sariel finally let go of her shoulders.

"Doubt it." She said under her breath. They both raised their hands in surrender as the C-Sec officers filed in with weapons drawn.

"What happened here?" One of the officers asked when he found Six's body.

"Everything went to hell as usual," Nine said.


	10. Chapter 10

This time when Sariel approached the entrance of the C-Sec offices, Phrixus was waiting for him with a few other officers. He did not look pleased at the sight of Sariel, let alone at the sight of Nine trailing behind the drell as both were escorted in by a handful of C-Sec officers. A few curious reporters had followed, though other officers were holding them back from the building. When Sariel was close enough, Phrixus spoke in a low and hissing voice.

"My ass is on the line, Zahra's is in there looking for blood, and you guys threw half the Citadel into a panic. I hope you have a good explanation." The officers who pushed Sariel along did not allow him to stop for a chat.

"Zahra is here?" Sariel smiled, still moving. "Good. I have some questions for her."

"The investigation is out of both our hands now. Thank you very much, by the way." Phrixus walked along with them as they entered the building. His voice softened up a great deal when he asked, "What happened?"

Sariel looked back to see that Phrixus's reaction was due to Nine's taciturn behavior. She hadn't spoken a word since they had left the alley, and she was not about to say anything now.

"Six is dead," Sariel stated. Phrixus began a very visible, internal struggle to remain professional. Almost like a hen to a chick, he hovered closer to Nine with a concerned look on his face. Sariel spoke again in an attempt to ease the turian, "Do not worry, though, this will all be over shortly."

They were marching down a long hallway when the asari rushed them, the groundskeeper from Matriarch Shasta's manor following quietly. The asari was enraged, and her choice of words when speaking to Nine indicated that she was Zahra.

"You disgusting little rodent! You think you can just sneak into my home like that? After what you did, you thought you could get away with it? And you!" She turned to Phrixus, "You are done working for C-Sec."

Sariel noticed the groundskeeper was uncomfortable with being there. He had been sweating a little, and his eyes darted around at the different C-Sec officers who surrounded him. When he looked at Sariel, he froze for a moment and then immediately looked at the ground. If Sariel couldn't get Zahra to confess to her involvement, the groundskeeper was a clear alternative.

"You are speaking too soon, Zahra," Sariel said.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked.

"I am detective Sariel Vier." He bowed a little. "If you don't mind, I have a few questions for you."

"You're a detective?" She eyed the handcuffs that chained his arms behind his back.

"I'm one that doesn't work for C-Sec," Sariel said proudly.

"Ma'am, I think it's about time you left," Phrixus said as the officers continued to shove Sariel and Nine forward.

"No!" Zahra followed the group as they walked farther into the station. "I'm staying here. I'm making sure she doesn't get away this time. I want the case reopened, I want justice for my mother." Her eyes narrowed at Phrixus. "You're not even supposed to be here."

"And neither are you. Don't see it stopping you, though," Phrixus said. Sariel cleared his throat rather loudly.

"I did reopen the case and I will gladly offer justice. If you are willing to cooperate, Miss," Sariel said.

"Yes. That's it! Let's have another detective friend of Nine's work on this case." She turned to one of the officers who walked along with them. "I want a detective completely unrelated to her in any way possible working on this. I want strict background checks!"

"I barely know Nine," Sariel chuckled, "and I can't wait to get away from her, as she has nearly driven me insane. She is a very aggravating, overgrown child." He looked back to Nine, who wasn't even phased by his words. "Do you think she even heard me?"

The groundskeeper had managed to slip away from the group, completely abandoning Zahra to the C-Sec officers. Sariel caught a final glimpse of the man as he escaped around the corner. There was not enough evidence to persuade C-Sec to stop the man from leaving, as much as Sariel desired otherwise. He would have to focus on Zahra for that confession.

"She acted the same way when mother died." Zahra glowered at Nine. "Not an ounce of emotion or remorse. Nothing."

"How cold and heartless. It is a clear sign of guilt to not even shed a tear." Sariel joined the scorning.

"What is your interest in my mother's murder?" Zahra asked.

"I believe in justice," Sariel smiled. "I wouldn't have entered such a career if I didn't. Such a horrific crime involving such a beloved Matriarch should not be overlooked as easily as it has been. Also, I've come to the realization that it is very much connected to the current case."

When they finally entered the processing room, Sariel and Nine were both forced to sit down on a bench against a wall while the officers went to their terminals. Another officer in the room walked over with the intent of removing Zahra, but Phrixus stopped the officer by holding up a single talon and crossing his arms. Sariel was grateful that Phrixus was at least smart enough to pick up on his plan, even if he didn't fully understand why Sariel was doing it.

"How is any of this connected to my mother's death?" Zahra asked. Sariel was more than happy to explain.

"By the one thing that bothered me most after I looked over those case files: Nine's age. The timing was almost perfect. If she had a set birthday, it would have been very suspicious for the murder to have happened right when she became an adult by human law. However, she had to have a medical exam for anyone to truly know how old she was. Then I learned something about Nine's past. Six had found her orphaned as a baby. Now, whether she was truly an infant or not can be argued, but this does indicate that the gang could gauge Nine's age, considering the timeline she spent with them."

"I fail to see a connection." Zahra was completely focused on Sariel as he spoke.

"It had to have been someone from the gang that committed the murder."

"Nonsense! You just said she was guilty."

"I said she behaved like someone guilty."

"Why would someone from her gang want to kill my mother?"

"Nine had gotten off easy. Her life was set on a more positive track while the rest were likely to have to serve prison time and be destined for abnormal lives. The murderer waited for her to be old enough to be punished like the rest of them. Additionally, Nine left them; she betrayed them. Her talents with technology were what had given the gang power. Without her, they completely lost it. Thanks to evidence from the crime scene at your home, we are able to prove that the murderer was a biotic. The only known biotic users in the gang were Amber Wynn, known as Ten, and Jesslyn Reed, the leader known as One. Due to the fact that Amber Wynn was in a psychiatric hospital at the time, it only leaves Jesslyn Reed." Zahra's eyes widened in shock. Her voice was uneasy and stressed as she spoke.

"Do you have any real proof at all? This is all theory."

"I will have evidence sooner or later." He leaned back, shifting a little so as to not crush his hands. All eyes in the room were on the two of them. Sariel then continued, quite casually, "You were right in leaving everything in that manor intact, including Nine's things. There is one major piece of evidence on the property that I guarantee will link Jesslyn Reed to your mother's murder. When your mother originally took Nine under her wing, Nine did one last thing to help a member of the gang. She switched Amber and Jesslyn's identities so that Amber could receive medical help from the Alliance. Then, Nine saved Jesslyn's Alliance files on a personal terminal, encrypted and hidden away so that not even her mentor could find it. That data will give us the DNA link to the crime scene that no one has been able to find."

"I don't believe it." Zahra shook her head.

"Why not?" Sariel asked.

"You are telling me she stole Alliance files. That is a serious crime in itself. If someone were to get that out and find no DNA link, Nine would look even worse than before for stealing the files."

"She did it as a child. She may have been a genius with technology, but you cannot expect a ten-year-old to have common sense. By asari standards, she wasn't even a toddler," Sariel said.

"As an adult she should have handed the evidence over years ago. If what you say is true, she would have cleared her name," Zahra shouted.

"She was kicked out of her home, accused of murder and arrested before she was aware she was technically an adult. Then, she wasn't allowed access..."

"She broke into my home!" Zahra stomped her foot.

"That happened within the last 24 hours. She has been very ill within the last 24 hours and I have a doctor to back me up on that. She was only using the safe storage space to rest. She has not had the chance to get access to the computer since being accused of the murder."

Zahra turned her attention to Nine. Zahra was still enraged but her eyes appeared to hover on the verge of tears. Sariel was certain that Zahra was about to discover that she had helped her mother's murderer kill more, and then confess her involvement with the current murders. The desire to catch the real killer would be too strong.

It was then that Sariel became aware of Nine again. Nine had heard the entire conversation. Her head lowered, causing her hair to hide her face. She was taking the truth just as hard. The whole ordeal really was traced back to her through the act of switching those files.

"Nine. Is it the one in the bedroom or the lab?" Zahra finally asked.

"The lab," Nine spoke very weakly.

"You, come with me," Zahra said to Phrixus as she walked out the door. "We're bringing that computer's hard drive in." Phrixus looked to Nine with a small worrisome glance, then followed Zahra out. Everything was set in motion.

When it came to being processed into C-Sec's system, Sariel was curious to see how Nine would handle the situation. Much to his surprise, she didn't resist the compilation of her identity at all.

"You are registered as Rylie Shepard. Is that correct?" the officer asked.

"Yes," she said.

"Of course not," Sariel spoke up. There was a short pause while the C-Sec officer thought.

"Is that a fake name?" the C-Sec officer asked.

"Yes it is," Sariel answered without hesitation.

"Your system would pick up on whether it's fake or not, wouldn't it?" Nine asked.

"Well, yeah..."

"There you go. Stop listening to the asshole over there."

The return to inappropriate language was a bad sign. Sariel stopped pushing about the name. The pressing issue was that Sariel was facing charges involving resisting arrest, public property damage, assault, trespassing, and vigilantism. Nine was in trouble for assisting him, as well as breaking and entering.

When the processing was finally completed, the two were taken to a temporary holding cell to await questioning. Sariel predicted that the charges would be dropped when the truth, as well as all the evidence, came to light. There was nothing else to do but wait for everything to unravel. Still, he couldn't stop himself from pacing in the small cell; every muscle in his body twitched with restlessness. How hard was it to remove a hard drive from a terminal?

As though nothing was going on, Nine merely sat on the cot and stared at the metallic floor that Sariel's feet shuffled back and forth on. She slouched backwards against the wall, her hands resting on either side of her like a lifeless rag doll. Sariel watched her as he made his rounds. She continued to do and say nothing. This was getting on his nerves.

"You do realize that becoming numb to everything isn't going to make things better." When she didn't respond, he continued to circle the cell. He thought aloud as he did so, intent on trying to fill the dead silence.

"They must be trying to access the files themselves." He paced even faster at the idea. "They're holding off on questioning us until they find these files. They will have to come back here at some point for us. They won't be able to open the files without you. Zahra won't let it go at this rate..." He stopped and stared at Nine again. "Say something. Anything at all."

"Pacing isn't going to make things happen faster." Her manner of speech continued to drone. Sariel ignored her and resumed his pacing. She spoke again, "I would think you'd be more confident."

"I am fully confident." Sariel chortled.

"Then relax. You have nothing to worry about." She stretched her arms behind her head and closed her eyes.

"Why do you lie about your real name?" Sariel came to a complete stop in front of her.

"Why do you have to be an ass about it?" she asked.

"I'm going to find out what your real name is."

"I had all of the Shadow Broker's information at my fingertips. But I couldn't find anything about parents or names or DNA connections. Nothing."

"You actually bothered to look? I was beginning to think you didn't care." He began to walk again, only at a much slower pace.

"I've learned to accept that I am Nine and I don't care anymore."

"I find it unbelievable that you found no close family relations at all."

"Just let it go."

"Now you've challenged me. I don't think you've looked at all." Sariel stopped at the force field that locked them in before looking down the hallway of cells. A question slithered its way to the forefront of his mind. It had been at the back of his mind for a while now, he just hadn't had much of a chance to ask. "Why didn't you bother to use the Shadow Broker to find who killed Sashta?"

"I don't like revenge."

"You suspected Jesslyn, didn't you." He looked back to see her finally lift her eyes to look at him. "More denial I suppose?"

"No. Just drop it," she said.

"Dropping it, forgetting and pretending it didn't happen only causes more problems."

"I realize that. Thanks." She exhaled hard. The worn-out look that crossed her face was the first break in emotion she'd displayed since learning of Six's demise. It reminded Sariel that she had lost someone she'd considered a father. He had become so caught up in the details of the case that he had overlooked the fact that lethargy was her way of grieving. Normally she would have gone off the grid and never bothered to look for comfort from her few friends. That was what she had done when Sashta had died. In fact, Nine still planned to disappear after this. Who knew what she would do from there. This might be the final straw to send her off the deep end for all Sariel knew.

He recalled what it was like for him after his father died. Memories filled his mind of what he had felt, and what his siblings' and his mother's reactions had been. There had been a varying range of emotions while they each tried to cope in their own ways. The youngest siblings had struggled the most. His baby sister, Mirari, had just turned six at the time. She'd hardly known their father before she'd had to watch him sink beneath the ocean waters. It had been months before she'd stopped asking when he was coming home.

Sariel reluctantly acknowledged he was in the perfect position to understand what Nine must be feeling. He just didn't want to compare his father's death to Six's. He remembered how he hated it when people did that; it felt so belittling. Someone else comparing their loss to his own made his feelings seem unimportant, not to mention that Six had died in a far more traumatic and unexpected manner.

Instead, Sariel remembered what he had wanted back then. He remembered what his siblings had wanted, and what they had done to handle the loss. There was something Nine needed to do, and for whatever reason she wasn't selfish enough to interrupt everything to do it.

"Go ahead and cry." He kept his voice calm and gentle. "Don't hold back because I'm here. There isn't anyone else close enough to hear you. Or, if you prefer, get angry. Beat me to a pulp if you like. I'll tell C-Sec that I allowed you to assault me and I won't press charges, I swear."

She coughed as if to hide a laugh, and then continued to speak in the same dull manner. "Maybe later. I don't want to feel anything right now. I appreciate the thought, though."

"I..." Sariel's jaw became rigid in anticipation of what he was about to say. It was the right thing to say. A very difficult, but still right thing to say. He stared forward out of the cell, afraid to look at her when he spoke. "I must thank you. For everything. For your assistance in getting this evidence and for saving my life." He paused as he considered whether he meant what he wanted to say next, or if he would regret it later. "I wish to use your technological services again. For future cases."

Without warning Nine's arms were wrapped around him, her face buried in his shoulder. Sariel sighed, a low rumble rounding it out.

"I'm too expensive for your budget, Sari," she whispered. He looked down at her.

"Do not call me that. Also, you're going to charge me full price after all this?"

"Naturally. We are even in owing things to each other now." She lifted her head, looking into his eyes with a small smirk. "There are alternative forms of payment available, though."

"You're disgusting. I would never..." He tried to pull away from her but she kept her grip.

"Oh, now you've gone and challenged me."

"Get off me or I'll charge you with sexual harassment," he warned. She buried her face in his shoulder again, squeezing him tighter.

"It was just a joke, and I want a hug right now. Even if it's one sided. Now be quiet for a little bit. Please. That's all I ask from you. That's all I really want. Silence."

Another low rumble moved through his throat. It wasn't difficult to be silent, just difficult to do so while her arms were wrapped around him. He supported her weight when she seemed to grow weak. Then there was a small, strange gasp that escaped from Nine. He looked down at her when she gasped again. She was crying and attempting to hide it. The sight left a guilty pain in his chest. Carefully he shifted so that he could wrap his arms around her and hold her close. There were things coming to mind that he wanted to say, but he stopped himself. She wanted silence and a hug, and it was working. She was letting her emotions go. The moment didn't last long, however.

The doors at the end of the hallway slid open. The familiar sound echoed through their cell.

"They're coming," he whispered, taking his arms off of her. She let go and walked away, rubbing a handkerchief over her eyes that Sariel realized she had pick-pocketed from him. He let it go; the handkerchief wasn't important. He turned just as Phrixus arrived. "Did you finally give up trying to find the files?" Sariel asked as the C-Sec officers turned the force field off.

"We have one of our top forensic technicians on it," Phrixus said. "He found what he believes are the files, but he can't crack them open. I finally got the okay to allow Nine access." The officers entered the room, one approaching Nine with cuffs ready. She took a deep breath and held her hands out. The handkerchief had disappeared. The officer with cuffs approached Sariel, and Phrixus spoke again.

"You're requested to come as well, courtesy of the technician. Says he's a big fan and wishes to meet you." His tone of voice and the flap of his mandibles hinted volumes. This technician was someone Sariel knew. Considering the timing, he had little doubt who it was. When they entered the computer forensics office, Sariel's eyes went immediately to Amek, dressed in a C-Sec uniform and sitting behind a terminal as though he had worked there for years. Sariel acted as naturally as possible. Nine blinked several times in confusion.

"Ah, the great detective Sariel Vier." Amek stood with a smile. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Yes, and you are?" Sariel played along.

"Just call me Leths." He nodded and looked to Nine. "And you must be the infamous Nine. Funny, I always thought you were male."

"Yeah...funny..." she said.

"Let's get this over with," Zahra said. She was standing at a window that looked out over the wards.

"Yes, let's." Phrixus took the cuffs off Nine and lead her to a terminal. "Executor Pallin is on his way here and I'd like to have the data ready for his arrival."

"I also have a doctor's appointment I can't be late for," Amek said, and glanced at the clock. Pallin would more than likely recognize that Amek did not work for C-Sec's computer forensics division. At first, Sariel wasn't sure why Amek didn't leave then and there, but then he saw why - Amek wanted to see how Nine had hidden the files.

"Can I borrow your omni tool? Mine was confiscated," Nine asked as she sat down. It was a blatant lie to anyone who knew better. Sariel wasn't about to question it, and it appeared Amek and Phrixus wouldn't either.

"Sure." Amek handed it over cautiously. As soon as it was in her hand, the holo lit up and she went to work immediately. Sariel felt his chest swelling. The plan was going smoothly. The additional C-Sec officers present were perfect witnesses. The officers were not associated personally with anyone involved with the case, but they were aware enough to give valid testimony. Unfortunately, there would no doubt be questions later over what happened to this salarian C-Sec technician named Leths. They would have to figure out how to deal with that when the time came; with any luck it would be overlooked.

"Wait, those weren't the files?" Amek asked as he hovered eagerly around Nine.

"No. That was my asari hit-list," she said without a pause in her rapid typing.

"What?" Phirxus appeared alarmed.

"I'd be worried too, if I didn't already know it's more sexual than it sounds," Zahra growled.

"Just get the evidence out, Nine," Sariel demanded before any further discussion on the asari hit-list could commence. A few moments later, Nine announced that she was done.

"Here it is. Jesslyn Reed's complete confidential Alliance files."

Amek leaned in to review the file. "It's authentic. All the tags and encryptions typical of the Alliance are there, as if it never left their system at all."

"Good. Now compare the DNA to the DNA from the crime scene," Sariel ordered.

"Officer Moore, if you would be so kind." Phrixus nodded towards the human officer. Amek did a quick transfer of the files to Officer Moore's terminal; the officer already had the DNA evidence ready for comparison. Moore looked back to Phrixus and nodded.

"It's an identical match."

"Yes!" Sariel stomped his foot in victory.

"Check it again!" Zahra shouted. They all looked at her, surprised by the reaction. Sariel quietly basked in his victory. Here was the confession. Zahra turned from the window; her face was soaked in tears. "I said, check it again!"

Sariel was trying to fight back a smile and Amek's expression only made it worse. He stared so hard at Sariel, waiting for an answer, that Sariel had to bite his tongue. Phrixus was the one to finally say something.

"It can't be wrong, we have one of the best..."

"Damn it!" Zahra ran her hands across the wavy folds of her scalp, "Goddess, forgive me, please."

"What's wrong?" Phrixus asked. Zahra spun around and pointed at Sariel.

"You smug bastard," Zahra shouted at Sariel. "You were the one she was so worried about! She thought you were a SPECTRE!"

"Why don't you share with us? Who is 'she'?" Sariel asked.

"You know very well who!"

"Alright, then how long after Nine's disappearance did Jesslyn approach you?"

"Is he allowed to do this?" Her voice was screeching.

"She made a deal with you, didn't she?" Sariel asked. "Since both of you wanted Nine dead, you decided to work together to get that accomplished. Vengeance for your mother's death, vengeance for her life being destroyed. However, neither of you expected that the Shadow Broker would pick Nine up as an agent and that Nine would use him to hide from everyone. The two of you spent three years trying to find her.

"Meanwhile, Jesslyn discovered that almost all of her old gang members weren't interested in rejoining her. Thus, she made a new plan to eliminate and replace all of them, including Nine. Six being one of the few loyal to her, agreed to carry it all out when he was released from prison. Then you discovered who Nine had been working for. A fellow corporation lost important data to a mysterious agent called Nine. You paid the Shadow Broker a very large sum to push her out into the open.

"Despite her value in data gathering for him, the money was enough to convince him she was not worth keeping. It also put a high value on her head. The Shadow Broker allowed you access to track her. I suspect that even though Nine has gained several enemies while working for the Shadow Broker, many of the people who have pursued Nine up until now did so because you paid them. You became too impatient and didn't want to wait for Jesslyn's plans to kill everyone from her gang.

"Only, Nine kept escaping. Time and time again. Finally, Six was released from prison and you helped him any way you could. You realized that his victims trusted him, so why wouldn't Nine? So you helped him travel, quickly and efficiently, using the Shadow Broker to give him all the locations for every victim and to make him difficult to track. You allowed him full access to your manor and somehow managed to help him past C-Sec security."

"Jesslyn got him through C-Sec security!" Zahra shouted. She could barely speak she was so distraught. "She also had two others brought here. A human male she called Thirteen and this female human she called Three. You go ask for their real names; you have them both in the hospital right now. They were supposed to meet with Six here, and convince him to continue with our plans. I just paid for everything and yes, I did give him access to my home, but I don't know how they got him through customs! I don't know where the other two have been hiding. Oh, goddess, if I had known!" She gasped sharply.

"Zahra, look, let's do a proper interview when you've calmed down," Phrixus interrupted. "You can have your rights read to you and I'll let you make a comm call." Zahra ignored him and looked at Nine, who had long since returned to her very reserved state.

Zahra let out another choking gasp as she spoke. "I'm so sorry, Nine. I'm so sorry. I was so angry and I...I..." Nine didn't say anything, didn't acknowledge that the other spoke to her at all.

Phrixus nodded towards one of the officers, who proceeded to handcuff Zahra. Zahra screamed desperately, trying to get out of the officer's hands "Nine, please! Forgive me!"

"I forgive you," Nine managed to say before falling silent again.

With all the commotion distracting everyone, only Sariel noticed that Amek had taken the chance to slip out of the room. In came a couple of the real C-Sec technicians from their lunch break, their drinks still in hand. They were surprised to see the crowd in their normally empty office. As Phrixus recited Zahra's rights, Sariel quietly approached Nine, who was perhaps more mentally gone than she had been all afternoon.

"Relax," Sariel whispered to her. "I realize it hurts, but please stay. Take the advice you gave me. Seek out your friends for company and do not isolate yourself. Nobody will be after you for a while, I swear."

It was then that Executor Pallin walked into the room. Sariel stood upright.

"What the hell is going on in here?" the Executor asked, seeing Zahra hysterically crying on the floor, with officers trying to move her for arrest.

"A lot more than I thought there was," Phrixus said.

"I can explain everything," Sariel added with a smile.


	11. Chapter 11

"So, now what's going to happen?" Chase asked before sipping from his drink.

"I'll remain on the Citadel, testify in court against Zahra, the goundskeeper, Three and Thirteen, and rectify any final issues. This may take months, a year at most." Sariel looked around the bar. It was a far calmer and more relaxed setting compared to the Vex night club. He, Chase, and Amek were all sitting together in a booth, their drinks in front of them, waiting patiently for their food to be delivered.

"Meanwhile, a Spectre was assigned to track down Jesslyn," Amek said. "Did you hear who this Spectre is yet?"

"Of course not. They are keeping it confidential," Sariel said. He had little doubt that Valer was on his own personal mission to take care of Jesslyn, too. The Alliance had also been informed of events and was not happy. With those odds, Jesslyn couldn't hide for long.

"I bet the Alliance wishes Shepard was still alive to handle this," Chase said.

"I don't care who the Spectre is. I just wish I were involved," Sariel muttered. The turian waitress finally arrived at the table, carrying a platter of plates with their food. She placed the plates down and put the platter under her arm.

"Anything else needed, boys?" Her voice was very upbeat.

"No," Sariel grumbled.

"No, thank you," Amek smiled. Chase shook his head and the waitress nodded before walking away.

"What happened to Nine?" Chase asked. Then he began stuffing his mouth with his burger without waiting for an answer.

"She just disappeared," Sariel shrugged. He was sure that the day in the computer forensics office was going to be the last he would ever see of her. A small part of him wished she had listened to him and stayed longer. Her mental state couldn't have been stable."C-Sec is trying to figure out how she got off the Citadel. I know for sure she did something with the cameras; perhaps a cloaking device in her omni-tool to get out of the offices. After that, I have no idea what she did."

"Wow. The great detective Sariel Vier is stumped," Chase said.

"Not really. I just don't care to go find her," Sariel said.

"Really?" Chase frowned, "Would have been nice to have her tech skills with us."

"We don't need her." Amek had still been trying to figure out how she had taken and hidden those files. His pride was apparently hurt. Amek had managed to make a duplicate of the hard drive and was actively working on unlocking everything Nine had hidden. It was a break into her personal privacy, yes, but she had done the same for him. The current yield of data was enough for Amek to work with. Chase carried on with his questions.

"Doesn't she get the mansion now? I thought the files we found said the Matriarch left it to her."

"Yes. She did." Sariel stirred the sauce that was on the side of his plate of food. "Phrixus was able to obtain a warrant to investigate the location further for proof of Six's presence. It's a lovely place. Phrixus mentioned that C-Sec may auction it off if neither Nine nor Sashta's other two daughters claim it."

"Did you find anything interesting when you were there?" Chase asked.

"No, nothing. We'll worry about it later. I'd rather discuss other things besides the case." Sariel waved his hand.

"What? Really," Chase said, surprised.

"Yes," Sariel nodded. Both Amek and Chase stared at each other for a moment. "I think we should enjoy a little leisure time. I'm paying for all of it."

The two said 'thank you' at once. However, it was apparent that they were having trouble adjusting to Sariel's invitation to hang out. Chase broke the awkward silence.

"Nine was pretty cute, you know," Chase said.

"Nothing related to the case at all," Sariel warned.

"Oh, come on, it's not case related. It's a hot chick. Well...messy cute chick, who's really smart and outgoing." Chase smiled, lost in thought.

"No, she's not attractive in the least bit." Sariel's fears had been confirmed. Chase did find Nine to be attractive.

"Don't give me that," Chase laughed.

"She does not shave," Sariel said before he took the first bite of his own food.

"What?" Chase asked.

Sariel took the time to finish chewing before speaking again. "She does not shave like most human females," Sariel spoke much slower this time.

"Argh, really?" Chase made a face. "She did give me a hippy feeling... but she's easily one of those 'clean up nicely' types."

"Wait. How do you know that, Sariel?" Amek asked. Sariel quietly sipped from his cup, glaring at Amek for daring to ask that question.

"You sly dog!" Chase shouted and Sariel winced. It was loud enough that people from other tables glanced over.

"It is not like that." Sariel put his hand on his forehead and prayed the blond human would shut up.

"Yeah. Sure!" Chase grinned. There was a large piece of lettuce between his two front teeth. Sariel continued to explain himself, only in a much lower voice.

"She apparently doesn't carry an extra set of clothes with her, and when I went to the hotel where she was staying, she was not wearing any at all."

"This whole time I was thinking you were one of those asexual types," Chase said.

"Stop insinuating that I had relations with her. Believe me, she's the last person I would even consider. I prefer my own species." Sariel drank from his glass and dropped it on the table with a loud thud.

"Girls from your species aren't exactly all over the galaxy, Sariel," Chase spoke in a low tone of voice.

"Why would they have to be females?" Amek asked with a small smirk.

"_I prefer my own species._ Let's leave it at that." Sariel cleared his throat. " Now, let's talk about something else."

"You owe me 50 credits." Amek patted Chases shoulder.

"What are you talking about? I owe you nothing," Chase said.

"Yes you do."

"You were making bets on my sexuality?" Sariel interrupted.

"Well, it was a year ago," Chase began. "It was that case with that 300-year-old turian sword that belonged to the asari chick's father. She was hitting on you so bad, but it was going right over your head. So we argued about it."

"Chase thought you were asexual, I thought you were bisexual but preferred your own species."

"You did not!" Chase argued, "You thought he was completely gay. I owe you nothing."

"I was half right, you were completely wrong, you owe me 25 credits," Amek said.

"Why would you talk about that. Why would that be important at all?" Sariel asked.

"Well, Sariel, we don't know anything about you. This is the first time we've actually gotten to sit and chat about non-work related things with you," Amek said.

"Alright then, let's discuss something other than my sexuality. I do not see why that's important enough for bets."

"Did you see those asari sitting in the booth near the entrance?" Chase asked. Sariel nodded quietly. Chase continued in a low voice again, "Beautiful, weren't they? They were checking us out when we came in. We could pick them up easy."

"Nonsense. They only found me attractive," Sariel said.

"Only you?" Amek said.

"Yes," Sariel smiled.

"Then I dare you to leave with all three of them tonight," Chase said.

"No. Now really, can we discuss something else?" Sariel ate a little more.

"Fine, coward." Chase sat back in defeat.

"What made you want to invite us to get together anyways, Sariel?" Amek asked.

"I wanted to celebrate a job well done. I couldn't have done it without either of you, so I decided I should reward you two while I had the chance."

What Chase said next was news to Sariel.

"Reward? Huh, the reward from C-Sec you split with us seemed like plenty enough." Chase quickly added, "Not that I didn't want to meet up with you or anything when I came to pick up Amek. I was just surprised that you would want to meet with us. No offense really. I mean it."

C-Sec hadn't rewarded Sariel with any credits. They only dropped all the charges against him and Nine as he had hoped. He had been considering trying to get a temporary job with C-Sec to support himself while he stayed on the Citadel.

"I was actually surprised they rewarded you with so much," Amek added. "I thought they would have put that towards the property damage for sure."

"What are you talking about?" Sariel asked.

"The credits you sent this morning," Amek said.

"Yeah, 10k each," Chase said. Sariel pulled out his omni-tool, accessing his bank account. He discovered an extra thirty thousand credits that had not been there yesterday when he'd proposed the idea of the three of them meeting at the bar. Fifty thousand had been transferred to his account that morning, and twenty thousand had been transferred back out to Amek and Chase's accounts. There was an additional note attached to the first mysterious transfer.

_Hard earned, honest credits. I swear. PS: Your red colored calendar buddy has a real sweet bottom. 3_

"Sariel, what's wrong?" Chase asked.

"I got a message from my younger sister. She broke her arm and felt the need to send me a gruesome picture of it." It was convincing enough to explain the look on his face, and the two didn't ask further. "Yes, I was also surprised that they rewarded us," Sariel added.

They continued to eat and chat, spilling over into conversation about siblings. Sariel put his omni tool away and wondered if he might hear from Nine again. After all, Phrixus had shown little concern over her sudden disappearance. Either the turian had improved his act, or Nine had listened to Sariel and never left the Citadel at all.

[Thanks for to everyone for reading and reviewing!

Special thanks to neita, hana, icca( aka on here as ghost.713, go read her stuff!) for betaing for me.

Super special thanks to rshara(aka on here as Katerina Kintari, go read her stuff!) who was my main beta person and did a lot of work to help me deal with lots of grammar issues, switching viewpoint issues, and making me aware of my confusing rambling.]


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